Think the nursing shortage in Texas is bad now?
Wait til 2020.

A new report from the Department of State Health Services sheds light on Texas’ nursing needs as the baby boomers age.
The study found that unless there’s a “major intervention” to increase supply or decrease demand, Texas could be short 71,000 nurses in 2020. In 2005, the state was short 15,000 nurses.

What’s causing the shortage? Not only is the nursing workforce aging, but in the next five to 15 years, 70 percent of nursing faculty is expected to retire. “(F)or some schools, in spite of having qualified student applicants available, they may not have faculty to teach them,” the report says.

The report suggests that the Legislature direct $52 million in new funds to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to increase the number of faculty and students in nursing programs. It also recommends the Legislature pay for salary increases for nursing faculty.

The report paints a grim picture for what would happen if the Legislature does not act. More Texans would die, and healthcare costs would rise, it says.

“There are no simple solutions,” the report says.