New York State Assemblyman Tom Alfano joined with Assembly Minority Task Force Chairman Maureen O'Connell in announcing major health care recommendations in an effort to attract more people into the nursing profession. O'Connell, a registered nurse and ranking member of the Assemblyman Health Committee, made the announcement with Alfano at Winthrop-University Hospital. Surrounded by health care professionals, Alfano and O'Connell made the recommendations based on testimony and hearings held from around the state.

"This is a critical issue that goes right to the heart of our health care system," said Alfano, adding that "this spring I held a roundtable discussion with nursing professionals in my office to discuss what nurses are needed who work everyday in the trenches in our local hospitals. What I found very distressing was that local nurses who live right here in Elmont, Franklin Square, North Valley Stream and West Hempstead are overworked and have serious concerns about their profession."

In response to growing concern over shortages of qualified nurses at major hospitals throughout the country, the Nursing Task Force went into action earlier this year to outline a strategy to face the problem and gather information in an effort to head off the crisis. Alfano, a member of the Assembly Leadership, supported the task force and is a sponsor of several pieces of legislation to help combat the shortage crisis.

The report made several recommendations that Alfano has endorsed along with the task force. They include:

* Better pay and incentives

* Restricting mandatory overtime and setting staffing guidelines

* Streamlining paperwork requirements

* Making scholarships and stipends available to nursing students

* A coordinated campaign to stimulate young people's interest in nursing

* Expanding on-site childcare for nurses and nursing students.

"These are all common-sense recommendations that will help restore dignity and morale to our nurses. Needless to say, they are one of the most critical parts of our health care system. That's why we have to make a better environment for them to do their jobs," Alfano said.

A large part of the report dealt with attracting new people into the nursing profession. The committee heard testimony from professionals who noted that nursing has run into stiff competition from other fields. Part of the shortages, according to experts, cited the nursing faculty and the population of working nurses is aging, poor working conditions, including mandatory overtime and a negative perception of the nursing profession.

"We welcome the report findings," said Karen Ballard, director of practice and governmental affairs for the New York State Nurses Association. "It supports our own recommendations that we need a comprehensive approach to solving the nursing shortage. Without government-supported efforts to both recruit new nurses and retain experienced ones, we will face a monumental crisis within the next five to ten years."

Alfano pointed to some of his roundtable testimony he's received as indicative of the problem. He pointed to written testimony he received from a nurse in Elmont who said, "We have to lower nurse to patient ratios and give them flexible working shifts to address patient needs."

Another nurse in Franklin Square said in her testimony, "I have been a nurse for 20 years and the profession is not respected. We have too many patients to care for and too much paperwork, which is repetitious. Let me care for patients instead of creating red tape."

"It's pretty clear in their comments that this is a very serious situation and must be addressed now rather than later," said Alfano, who solicited testimony from the more than 2,000 nurses who live in his assembly district to better gauge their opinions on the current shortage. The assemblyman noted that he received hundreds of letters back with clear observations. "The bottom line is that we have to realign our priorities with our nurses. I want to help be a part of that process."

Alfano also noted that the report's findings are indeed a wake-up call to the Legislature and health care facilities throughout the state. "Everybody knows that the nurse is the first line of health care work for our families," he said. "If these primary caregivers are understaffed, overworked and under appreciated, we will face dire consequences in the near future."

Mark Genovese of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), a union that represents nurses at institutions such as North Shore University hospitals, said that historically nurses were people who wanted to make a career out of helping people. However, the conditions for nurses have worsened so that the position is not as desirable as it once was.

The shortages of nurses have caused those with nursing positions to work more overtime and bargaining on the part of nurses with hospitals have become in some instances difficult. Genovese believes a neglect of nurses on the part of hospitals has brought on the nursing shortage, which is a national problem, although some areas such as New York are worse than others.

Genovese said he is glad to see that lawmakers are beginning to take notice of the nursing shortage and improving work conditions so that the position is a more attractive one and thus would attract a greater number of students interested in entering the field.

An article, which appeared in Hospital & Health News, published by Peter M. Sullivan of the Nassau Suffolk Hospital Council, Inc., states that "hospitals in every state of the nation are wondering where the next generation of nurses will come from. We know in New York State there has been a 25 percent decrease in registered nurse graduates since 1998."

"We could always use more nurses. We would love to hire more RNs," said Bruce Beaver, spokesman for Franklin Hospital Medical Center in Valley Stream.

One factor to be considered about the nursing shortage is that years ago there weren't as many career options for women as there are today. Since there are a multitude of career options for women today, it could be that nursing is not being considered as much since it may not be as attractive a position as it once was. "It's lost a lot of its pizzazz," Beaver said. "But if a good registered nurse applied to our human resources department and said they are interested in a full-time, part-time or per diem position, we would hire them immediately."