A new class of Fort Worth nursing students started classes Jan. 13, a first day of school that will also help address a statewide shortage of the critical profession.
Undergraduate nursing students started class at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. The group of 30 students are the school’s first and only on-campus class in the university’s brand new nursing school.
HSC’s new nursing school was created in part to respond to a statewide nursing shortage. During and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health providers faced a staffing crisis, as nurses and other workers quit their jobs or retired after exhausting months or years on the front lines of the crisis. During the the height of the staffing crises, in 2022, three out of every four Texas hospitals reported inadequate staffing levels. Hospitals reported a median nurse vacancy rate of about 18% , meaning almost one in every five nursing positions was empty. Last year, the rate dropped to 8% , according to the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies.
But long term, the the state health department still predicts a nursing shortage in Texas, particularly as Fort Worth’s population continues to grow rapidly and continues to age. By 2030, the department projects North Texas will be short 15,700 nurses compared to the demand demand…