Imagine that nearly every seat in Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena — over 20,000 seats
— is empty. This is how many additional nurses Pennsylvania needs now to maintain
medical care at a minimal level.
Hospitals in the state report an average of a 14% vacancy rate for registered nurses.
In rural areas, the vacancy rate is even higher. That shortage puts further pressure
on an already very strained workforce. This is bad for nurses, and what’s bad for
nurses is bad for patients.
The Problem
COVID undoubtedly made worse the nursing shortage that had persisted for years, yet nurse leaders — supported by modest grant funding — had begun to turn things around to avert catastrophe. Now, recent cuts to the federal budget threaten to undo that fragile progress, putting the profession at risk of sliding backward at a time when stability is critical.
The nursing shortage in the U.S. is anticipated to persist until 2030, driven by multiple factors: nurses leaving the workforce, lack of faculty, an aging population and growing health care demand.
According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, 100,000 registered nurses (RNs) left the workforce due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than 600,000 RNs nationwide are expected to retire by 2027.
Faculty shortages will worsen the crisis, with up to one-third of nursing faculty projected to retire in the next few years — making it impossible to educate aspiring nurses. The majority of nursing faculty already earn less than their colleagues in practice and other academic disciplines, further complicating recruitment and retention.
A Lost Solution
One solution has been Workforce Development Grants under Title VIII. These Nursing Workforce Development Programs — part of the Public Health Service Act and administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) — support every aspect of nursing demand, from education and practice to recruitment and retention.
Funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act strengthened these programs to ensure strong pathways into nursing and access to quality care for patients nationwide.
Sadly, the HRSA Nursing Workforce and Nurse Faculty Loan Programs have either expired or been eliminated. To make matters worse, proposed Department of Education changes will cap student loans for nursing students, making it even harder — sometimes nearly unattainable — for individuals to pursue advanced degrees and become nurses or faculty members.
The nursing profession has been like a critically ill patient for many years. Just as we were beginning to see some indications of future stabilization, the federal government has chosen to remove the life-sustaining measures that we so greatly needed.
A Possible Future
What does this mean? The public’s health and welfare will be at risk due to the growing shortage of nurses and nursing faculty. America needs a highly educated nursing workforce, and will need even more highly educated nurses as science and technology advance.
Without the system of federal grants and loans that has sustained nursing education for many years, we will not educate enough nurses and nursing faculty to meet the needs of the population we serve. Without them, a nurse may not be there in your or your family’s time of need.
Mary Ellen Smith Glasgow's letter to the editor was originally published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on December 9, 2025.
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