How OADN Incoming Board Member Jennifer Eccles is helping Minnesota address the nursing workforce crisis and build a blueprint for other states to follow.

The nursing workforce shortage, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic, is impacting states all over the country and Minnesota is no different. Pre-pandemic estimates show nearly 30,000 nurses will be needed by 2025 to support the state’s health care delivery system. However, enrollment in Minnesota nursing programs has been on the decline with some schools being forced to limit enrollment due to a lack of nursing faculty.

To tackle the nursing workforce issue, the University of Minnesota, and Minnesota State schools, which include 26 community and technical colleges and seven state universities, joined forces to create the Coalition for Nursing Equity and Excellence (CNEE). The coalition is co-led by OADN member Jennifer Eccles, PhD, MSN, MEd, RN, and Connie White Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, FNAP, Dean of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. CNEE will work with nursing programs across the state to address the growing nursing shortage.

Read more on this development in US News & World Report and the Associated Press.