As Florida’s hospitals grapple with severe shortages across all health professionals, a new option for aspiring nurses is now open in Osceola County.
According to the Florida Hospital Association (FHA), the state’s population is growing by more than 800 people a day, with over half of these individuals being over 60 and in need of healthcare services. A 2021 FHA report found that Florida would face a shortage of nearly 60,000 nurses by 2035 due to its aging and growing population.
[Watch video below to hear doctor explain why need so great]
In an effort to get more people in scrubs, NUC University Florida Technical College has opened a School of Nursing in Kissimmee.
“We have eight locations in Florida. We have another 22 locations in Puerto Rico. Overall student population between Puerto Rico and the United States is about 30,000 students. We offer programs in a variety of areas: IT, business, construction, trades, health care, and hospitality,” said Dr. James Michael Burkett, president of NUC University Florida Technical College.
The new school in Kissimmee is officially open to students pursuing their registered nurse (RN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees, among other programs.
“Nursing has been part of the DNA of Duke University for a long time. We’re the largest provider of nursing education in Puerto Rico. Now we’ve brought this over to Florida for both our Kissimmee and Tampa locations,” Burkett explained.
“There’s a huge shortage of nurses in Florida. We felt this particularly in Osceola County during COVID,” Burkett said. “We were able to assist AdventHealth by providing bilingual staff and medical assisting students to help with vaccine hesitancy and to run vaccine clinics. This pointed out to us that not only is there a gap in nurses, but there’s a gap in nurses that are reflective of our community.”
The hope is that these young students will soon be staffing facilities like Orlando Health’s newest emergency department in Waterford Lakes. This facility trains nurses in trauma response, capable of serving patients from pediatric to geriatric.
“We are a full-service emergency department open 24/7. We have a full-sized lab. We have imaging. So, CT, X-ray, ultrasound, respiratory therapy 24/7. We’re staffed with an attending emergency department physician, registered nurses and paramedics,” said Erin Markham, nursing operations manager at Orlando Health Emergency Room at Waterford Lakes.
“Nursing has grown tremendously, especially through the pandemic, and the need for nurses has grown,” Markham added. “As we expand our services here with Orlando Health and come more into the communities, the need for nurses is growing, and the need for high-level nurses is growing. So, yes, nurses are needed. We are the ones at the bedside, the eyes for the doctors.”
As more potential patients enter the state, schools and healthcare providers are working to attract more individuals to the medical field to meet the increasing demand for care.
The Waterford Lakes Emergency Department opens to patients at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
For information on how to enroll in the NUC University Florida Technical College School of Nursing, click here.
