NMC program aims to bolster nursing shortage

Jul. 31—TRAVERSE CITY — Regina Kiogima is a busy woman, balancing her time between a full-time job, four children and the nursing program at Northwestern Michigan College.

Kiogima recently completed NMC's practical nursing program and will begin working on her associate degree in the fall. She plans to go on for a bachelor's in nursing and was thrilled that she will now be able to do it right on the NMC campus instead of having to drive hours to attend a four-year program.

"This is very good news for us as well as our community," Kiogima said, noting that people who earn their nursing degrees locally tend to stay in the area and take jobs in local health care settings.

They also hope to address the severe shortage of nurses being felt locally, as well as across the state and the entire country.

"I don't think any one of us would have anticipated it would be as bad as it is prior to COVID," said Tamela Livengood, NMC's director of nursing and allied health. "It has decimated the workforce."

Five million people have left the health care industry since the pandemic started — nearly 1.7 million this year alone, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Lynda Freet was one of nine Munson Medical Center nurses who signed an op-ed that was published in the Record-Eagle July 24. In it, they wrote that constant understaffing and increased patient-to-nurse ratios are putting patients and nurses at risk.

They are working long hours, extra shifts and are exhausted, they wrote.

Freet, who also is a union steward, said nurses are overwhelmed and sometimes have assignments of up to six or more patients. The ideal, she said, is a ratio of four to one. She'd like to see legislation that sets staffing ratios.

She said she also would like to see Munson do more to keep its nurses.

Munson is currently offering a $10,000 sign-on bonus for RNs working at the bedside. But there is no incentive for nurses who are already employed, Freet said. Retention bonuses are one idea nursing staff suggested for Munson to keep the nurses they have.

"They failed to use that idea," Freet said.

Tami Putney, chief nursing officer at Munson, said the hospital is focusing its efforts on recruitment and retention, but so is every hospital.

"We're not alone in the challenge," Putney said.

The hospital has an internal flex travel team that puts nurses where their skills are needed the most or where the acuity is the highest, Putney said. Traveling nurses are also being used to bridge the gap.

"They're just borrowing from Pete to pay Paul and it just doesn't work," Freet said.

The state recently appropriated $56 million in the 2023 fiscal year budget for a plan that supports the development of programs for ADN nurses, or those with associate degrees, to earn a BSN, or a bachelor of science in nursing, on community college campuses.

Community colleges can apply for a $2 million state grant to get the programs up and running. Under the plan, NMC will partner with a four-year college or university to design a program using input from employers such as Munson Healthcare.

"Munson has long partnered with NMC and other post-secondary institutions in the region," said Gabe Schneider, director of government relations for Munson Healthcare. "We are very supportive of NMC in their effort to provide the opportunity for students to get an ADN or a BSN. This is one strategy to that end."

Munson has a requirement that nurses without a BSN must complete it within five years of being hired. This requirement is still in place, despite the shortage. The hospital provides $5,000 per year in tuition assistance.

Livengood said she is excited about NMC partnering with universities, something she said will also shorten the time it takes to get a BSN.

In the last two years, NMC has graduated 91 ADN students, 64 of whom are employed at Munson.

The most recent results from the state nurse licensing exam show that 100 percent of NMC's graduate practical nurses, 19 of 19, passed the exams, while 95 percent of registered nurses, 36 of 38, passed. Those who didn't pass were successful on their second try.

"This demonstrates the high caliber of our nursing instruction, and that our grads are ready for BSN-level education, as well as employment in a profession that really needs their skills and talent," said Cari Noga, NMC communications director.

NMC already has articulation agreements in place with several universities for other programs, including Michigan State, Davenport, Ferris State, Grand Valley State and Lake Superior State universities and the University of Michigan.

Livengood said she is hoping NMC will be able to partner with more than one university, something that would give students a choice. The plan of study has not yet been fully developed, she said.

All Munson employees were required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the beginning of this year or lose their jobs.

Brian Lawson, Munson's director of communications, said most complied with the requirement and the hospital lost a minimal number of nurses because of the mandate.