December 18, 2008 - Today, Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson and a bipartisan group of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to U.S. Senate leaders calling for a substantial investment in health infrastructure as part of any economic stimulus plan.
"While all types of infrastructure investment will be important to the resurgence of our economy, health infrastructure investments are some of the most important," said Senator Nelson.
"Health infrastructure is a compounded investment - the resulting facilities create sustainable, long lasting jobs and will expand access to health care, while opening new opportunities for career development."
Senator Nelson initiated the letter and sought support from an evenly balanced number of Republican and Democratic colleagues.
"I hope the bipartisan support we are demonstrating for health care infrastructure investments will lead to more partnerships and less partisanship in Congress next year," Senator Nelson said. "We'll need bipartisanship to get our economy back on track, to create new jobs, to improve health care and to address the many other challenges in America today."
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) estimates that 64 million people live in primary care profession shortage areas. In addition, recent studies show that two-thirds of the approximately 1,150 community health center organizations, who serve as front-line care providers across the country, have unmet capital needs and that most health centers are operating in aging buildings in desperate need of repair.
"We applaud Sen. Nelson for realizing that short-term investments in workforce training and health infrastructure for rural facilities and independent physicians will produce jobs and long-term efficiencies in the system," said Wayne Sensor, CEO of Alegent Health, the State of Nebraska's largest private employer. "Opportunities exist within the healthcare industry to help get our nation's economy back on track."
This growing access challenge is compounded by unmet health training infrastructure needs. The nation is already experiencing a shortage of registered nurses (RNs) estimated at 6 percent. By the year 2020, the supply of RNs is projected to fall 36 percent, or 1 million nurses below predicted requirements, according to HRSA. This means 5,300 nurses below demand in Nebraska alone.
The Nebraska Hospital Association currently reports vacancy rates of 14.5 percent for occupational therapists, 12.3 percent for physical therapists, and 11.1 percent for medical laboratory technicians in the state's local hospitals with radiology technologist and respiratory therapist shortages on the rise.
"The stimulus funds requested by Senator Nelson and his colleagues will help Nebraska Health Centers expand our capacity to serve the increasing numbers of Nebraskans who find themselves without a medical home," said Rebecca Rayman, Executive Director of the Good Neighbor Community Health Center in Columbus, NE. "Infusing the centers with funds to expand facilities and to hire needed staff will help us meet those challenges and keep America's workforce healthy."
"In stimulating the U.S. economy, it is critical to include funding which invests in our nation's community health centers, rural health clinics and health professions training programs to support Americans as they seek primary health care services and job training opportunities in these tough economic times," said Nelson.
Senator Nelson was joined by Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Christopher Bond of Missouri, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Olympia Snowe of Maine, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Jon Tester of Montana as signatories on the letter.
