Recently introduced Nevada legislation boosts medical education, bans noncompetes, and reforms insurance.
Healthforce's weekly briefing for May 27, 2025. Get smarter on the latest news & trends in the healthcare workforce.
🖐️ THIS WEEK’S TOP 5
Nevada’s $25M fund expands residencies, mental health, and licensing.
Coastal Carolina & Horry Georgetown invest $11M to fight nursing shortage.
11 hospitals closed or cut services since March due to finances and staffing.
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💪 IMPACT STORY OF THE WEEK
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo’s health care bill SB495 allocates $50M to expand graduate medical education, tackles provider shortages, bans noncompete clauses, and reforms insurance prior authorizations. It also establishes an Office of Mental Health and fast-tracks licensing for underserved areas. (Nevada Independent)
⚖️ POLICY SPOTLIGHT
A new federal bill reintroduced by US Senator Sherrod Brown would set national nurse-to-patient ratios and protect nurses who report unsafe conditions. Backed by major unions, the legislation aims to curb burnout and improve patient safety amid a worsening staffing crisis. (Healthcare Finance)
Iowa’s Legislature passed Governor Reynolds’ bill to add 460 residency spots over four years at 14 hospitals. The bill also increases loan repayment funding for doctors practicing five years in underserved areas. (Yahoo!)
Nevada’s Healthcare Access Act, proposed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, establishes a $25 million annual fund to expand residency slots, mental health services, and streamline licensing. The initiative aims to ease pediatric care in Las Vegas and retain local medical graduates. (KNTV)
US Congressman Jim Costa introduced the bipartisan MORE Nurses Act to tackle the nationwide nursing shortage. The bill directs a federal review of nursing workforce trends, education capacity, and barriers, aiming for policy solutions to expand and support the nursing pipeline. (Sierra Sun Times)
🎓 BACK TO SCHOOL
Metropolitan State University of Denver is tackling Colorado’s behavioral health staffing gap through its new “Building Denver’s Mental Health Workforce” program. Grad students receive up to $15K in stipends and career support in exchange for working in the city’s mental health field post-graduation. (9 News)
Pikeville Medical Center is starting a 3-year Internal Medicine Residency Program in summer 2026. It’s aimed at addressing rural Kentucky’s doctor shortage, where only 30 physicians per 100,000 people serve versus 263 in urban areas. (WCHSTV)
UHS and Guthrie Lourdes received nearly $8 million from Mother Cabrini Health Foundation’s Nursing Initiative. Funding will help UHS pursue ANCC Magnet Recognition and Guthrie’s aims for Pathway to Excellence. Both will expand virtual nursing and nurse residency programs to address shortages and improve care. (Press Connects)
Mercer University received a $500K grant from the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce to upgrade nursing and simulation labs. This funding supports hospitals like Piedmont Macon by helping produce more nurses amid ongoing workforce challenges worsened by COVID-19. (13 WMAZ)
Dwyer Workforce Development (DWD) plans to expand into Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, and Kansas in 2025, aiming to train and place over 4,500 CNAs and GNAs nationwide, addressing the healthcare staffing shortage. In 2024, DWD served 4,116 scholars, generating $138M in annual earnings, with a focus on holistic support and job placement beyond senior care to hospitals. (I95 Business)
📊 BY THE NUMBERS
The U.S. faces a projected shortage of 78,600 nurses by 2025, driven by burnout, retirements, and new grads avoiding bedside roles. (AMP)
Florida projects a need for 59k more nurses by 2035, and new models like University of Florida’s paired training aim to improve retention by giving students hands-on experience and supporting both new and veteran nurses. (UF News)
A Columbia University study reveals a U.S. caregiving crisis with 24 states at "critical" or "high risk," especially rural ones where unpaid family caregivers provide $375 billion in labor amid home-health aide shortages. (Morningstar)
🏥 HOSPITAL WATCH
11 hospitals have closed or suspended services since March 18 due to financial strain, staffing shortages, or low demand, including emergency departments, obstetrics, pediatrics, and pharmacies. Notable closures include Lawrence Medical Center’s ED, multiple labor and delivery units, and St. Luke’s urologic oncology clinic. (Becker’s)
⚕LET’S TALK
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