This week, as part of a new ongoing series that seeks the views of those at the top, three hospital CEOs will address a pair of hot issues in their world: the nursing shortage and treating nicotine as an addictive drug.
Jim Foy is president and CEO St. John”™s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers.
Q: Is there a nursing shortage in Westchester County and the lower Hudson Valley region and, if so, what is an effective solution?
Foy: There is clearly a nursing shortage in Westchester that is worse than the national and regional shortage. Johnson & Johnson projected in a March 2008 study that “by the year 2020 the projected RN shortage will be 800,000.” A 2007 study by the Greater New York Hospital Association noted that 8.7 percent of the RN jobs in the greater New York region were vacant and that 12.8 percent of the RN jobs in Westchester were vacant. New York State Nurses Association identifies an annual need for 10,000 new RNs in New York and less than 7,000 new graduates; while at the same time over 65 percent of nursing schools in New York report that they are turning away competent applicants. The problem is lack of capacity and no one is doing anything about it. Three of New York”™s nursing schools have closed in the last several years and no new ones have opened. The schools that have recently announced they are opening are aimed at providing a bachelor degree to people who are already RNs. And yet when a school is willing to expand to address this shortage, there is no capital available. For example, the Cochran School of Nursing at St John”™s turns away over 100 qualified applicants each year and has been desperately looking to expand, but has been unable to find a source the $7 million expansion would require.
Q: Should smoking cigarettes be treated as seriously as a drug addiction?
Foy: From a medical point of view, smoking is clearly a drug addiction and is actually treated than same way as heroin or alcohol by acupuncturists. It”™s not treated as seriously because society doesn”™t see as clearly its impact on nonsmokers. However, the huge medical costs caused by it affect all of us in our taxes and health costs.
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Jon B Schandler is president and CEO of White Plains Hospital Center.
Schandler on nursing: Yes, there is a serious nursing shortage, both in our area and throughout the country. So much so that three years ago, White Plains Hospital Center launched its unique Nurse Apprentice Program designed to encourage local high school and college students to pursue nursing careers. The program, which we believe can become a model for the country, has been very successful in introducing a number of local students to nursing from the ground up at our hospital ”“ one of whom will become the first to join our nursing staff in the fall after graduating from nursing school. This is a promising start to an end of the nursing shortage.
Schandler on cigarettes: There”™s no question that smoking is an addiction that unfortunately begins in the young. Although there are fewer people who smoke today than a generation ago, it is still unacceptable that one in five Americans still smoke. Smoking is the one cause of cancer that is preventable, which is why we ”“ especially in the health care community ”“ need to do all we can to discourage it by personal example and aggressive communications.
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Joel Seligman is president and CEO of Northern Westchester Hospital.
Seligman on nursing: Yes, nationally there is a serious nursing shortage and here in Westchester County and the Hudson Valley, we are challenged by this important issue. At the heart of the nursing shortage nowadays is the lack of nursing faculty members for nursing programs. There are far more people interested in going into nursing as a profession, but there are simply not enough slots for all of the qualified candidates. One of the most effective solutions is to increase the number of nursing professors. We need to encourage clinical nurses to pursue the advanced degrees that allow them to teach. Northern Westchester Hospital employs a nursing clinical instructor, as a member of the faculty at Pace University”™s nursing program, to allow Pace to increase its enrollment. This allows for 16 students to fulfill their practical training here at the hospital. We also offer a nursing clinical ladder that encourages staff to advance to higher levels of education, practice and teaching.
Seligman on cigarettes: Cigarette smoking is a form of drug addiction. We all know that smoking is one of the most detrimental things that people can do to their health and that it leads to many serious health conditions. So yes, it is an addiction that should be treated seriously. At Northern Westchester Hospital, we offer our community a unique smoking cessation program that incorporates behavioral modification, prescribed medication, complementary therapies and nicotine replacement therapy. We encourage individuals to refer themselves to this free program, which is open to the entire community and is sponsored through a grant.”
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(Suggestions for questions and topics can be submitted to achielli@westfairinc.com.)
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