Bill would ease visa shortage for foreign nurses

For some time, a visa shortage has limited the ability of provider organizations to hire foreign healthcare professionals. Now, however, a new federal bill proposes to provide visas for qualified registered nurses to work in the U.S. The Emergency Nursing Supply Relief Act would not only help address visa shortages, it also would provide a mechanism to fund measures to attract and retain nursing faculty, buy educational equipment and attract American students to nursing careers. The bill hopes to address the mushrooming shortage of nurses in the U.S., which is only projected to get worse over time. The American Hospital Association, for example, was reporting that hospitals needed more than 116,000 RNs to fill their current professional openings, far more than available in today's healthcare marketplace.

To learn more about the bill:
- read this Healthcare Finance News article [1]

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