NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — HCA is spending $300 million to build the next generation of nurses. As more nurses leave the profession, the company is hoping these efforts fill the gap as they train and educate the next generation.
It comes as nurse shortages are high across the country as not enough nurses are being trained to replace those that leave. This investment is working to address that problem directly.
More than $200 million will go towards expanding the Galen College of Nursing and $136 million towards the opening of new HCA Healthcare Centers for Clinical Advancement. Those centers are dedicated to helping practicing nurses advance their skills and careers.
HCA officials said they're committed to helping train the next generation and both investments do just that, but the announcement comes as SEIU HCA workers recently rallied at an April shareholders’ meetings. They came in from out of town to protest at the HCA Headquarters downtown.
Those shareholders were voting on a key metric that would require a committee within HCA’s Board of Directors to review staffing levels in HCA hospitals. The proposal did not pass according to a spokesperson. The SEIU workers rallying cite one report showing HCA staffs its hospitals about 30 percent below the national average. They have been asking for the company to listen to concerns about quality care and retention.
