HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 13

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

Eleanor Chavez

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO TRACK FUNDING FOR NURSING EDUCATION THROUGH THE NURSING PROGRAM ENHANCEMENT FUND, THE HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA AND OTHER FUNDING FOR NURSING EDUCATION AND REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE ON THE USES AND DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE FUNDS.

     WHEREAS, out of fifty states and the District of Columbia, New Mexico ranks fiftieth for the number of nurses per one hundred thousand population; and

     WHEREAS, according to the New Mexico center for nursing excellence, New Mexico will need an estimated five thousand more nurses in the work force than were in the work force as of June 2008 in order to meet projected needs; and

     WHEREAS, programs to educate nurses in New Mexico have almost doubled their capacity in the last seven years; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico schools offering nursing degree programs were unable to admit two hundred forty qualified applicants for the 2009-2010 academic year, which represents twenty percent of all applicants; and

     WHEREAS, according to a recent survey and study conducted by the New Mexico center for nursing excellence, between forty-eight and one hundred seventy-one additional full-time-equivalent nursing faculty members are needed to be able to admit all qualified candidates for a nursing degree; and

     WHEREAS, many barriers exist to the recruitment and retention of nursing faculty members, including faculty compensation that does not compete with practice settings, a weak educational pipeline to develop new faculty, models of education that prohibit collaboration among institutions and a challenging and difficult work environment; and

     WHEREAS, in January 2009, the higher education department issued the New Mexico Nursing Program Development Enhancement Fund Study, a report of a study evaluating the effectiveness of the nursing program enhancement fund in meeting the demand for nurses practicing in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the report contained recommendations to increase the capacity of New Mexico educational institutions to educate nurses and to increase the number of nurse faculty members, including encouraging career pathways for master's- and doctoral-level educators to teach in nursing programs and increases in faculty salaries through multi-level strategies; and

     WHEREAS, the report did not address other sources of revenue for nursing education, including the higher education funding formula; and

     WHEREAS, the study conducted by the New Mexico center for nursing excellence recommended that nurse educators, supported by the higher education department, develop a statewide plan for nursing education to address the identified barriers and challenges to ensuring an adequate supply of nurses to meet future demand; and

     WHEREAS, regular reports regarding the distribution of funding to nursing schools to support the development of qualified faculty and the effectiveness of the distribution of such funding would be of value to the legislature in determining the full extent of the need for funding for these purposes;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the higher education department be requested to track funding for nursing education through the nursing program enhancement fund, the higher education funding formula and other funding for nursing education and report to the legislature on the uses and distribution of those funds; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department be requested to cooperate with nurse educators and institutions that educate nurses in the development of a statewide plan for nursing education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the higher education department be requested to report to the interim legislative health and human services committee by November 2010 on its progress toward developing regular reporting mechanisms of the distribution and uses of nursing funds, make recommendations for changes to the current formulas for funding nursing education and report on the development of a statewide plan for nursing education; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of higher education, the director of the New Mexico center for nursing excellence and the director of the board of nursing.

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