Amidst a nursing shortage, legislators look to reduce licensing and training barriers. (Getty Images)
Indiana doesn’t have enough nurses to meet growing demands, with thousands of openings across the health care industry. By the end of the decade an estimated one-in-four Hoosiers will be retirement age or older, a population that has more health needs and more complicated care.
Estimates predict that Indiana would need an additional 5,000 nurses by 2031, equal to graduating an additional 1,300 nurses each year until that time, according to the Indiana Hospital Association .
A nationwide nursing shortage has spurred states to take action, with some investing $125 million to lure students to the profession and other states providing a living allowance alongside child care benefits .
In Indiana, those types of add-ons are still in the hands of employers and legislator attention remains fixed on widening the pipeline of students and adding licensing flexibilities.
Building upon the passage of a 2022 nursing bill, House Bill 1259 seeks to continue expanding the nursing workforce by addressing foreign-educated nursing licensure requirements and on-the-ground training.