2020 Named Year of the Nurse and Midwife by World Health Organization (2 minute read)

The World Health Organization (WHO) named 2020 the year of the Nurse and Midwife!

WHO thought it was appropriate to celebrate nurses and midwives in 2020 to commemorate the 200^th Birthday of Florence Nightingale, an English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.  Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organized care for wounded soldiers.

In addition, WHO wanted to honor nurses and midwives for playing such an essential role in providing a broad range of health care services to our population. These are people who have devoted their lives to caring for others. They are often on the front lines, being the first and only health care provider in many communities.

Nurses and midwives constitute more than 50% of the health workforce in many countries. However, as widely reported, we’re experiencing a deficit and need 9 million more nurses and midwives on a global level to achieve complete health care coverage by 2030.  In the US alone, the number of registered nurses needed by 2030 is estimated to skyrocket by 28.4% from 2.8 million to 3.6 million.

The top 7 US states that currently have a shortage of nurses are:

California
Texas
New Jersey
South Carolina
Alaska
Georgia
South Dakota

Why the shortage of nurses? Many reasons can be found in MedBest’s article for Provider Magazine, May 2019: as nursing shortage looms policy makers step in

In this year-long effort to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, WHO hopes to highlight the challenging conditions they often face, celebrate the vital contributions they make, and advocate for increased investments in the nursing and midwifery workforce.

ABOUT JULIE RUPENSKI

Julie Rupenski is the Founder, President & CEO of MedBest, opening the doors in 2001. Since that time, Julie has gained national recognition for providing top talent solutions exclusively for the Senior Living Industry. Her specialties include filling C-Suite, Vice President, Regional, and Property level positions.

Julie has an in-depth knowledge of the Senior Living Industry since she previously worked in operations for both Senior Housing and Senior Living. Today, Julie makes it her personal and professional mission to place qualified people in health care positions where they have the greatest impact.

Julie earned her degree in Gerontology at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida and continues to cultivate her career through senior living conferences, forums, trade shows, and expos.

(Julie’s industry articles and interviews have been published in Provider Magazine, Argentum Quarterly, LeadingAge Magazine, Florida Health Care Association, Florida Assisted Living Association, Florida Senior Living Association, LeadingAge Florida, LeadingAge Indiana, Pennsylvania Health Care Association, Oregon Health Care Association, and Virginia Assisted Living Association.)

Contact Julie Rupenski at jrupenski@www.medbest.com / 727-526-1294.

ABOUT MEDBEST

MedBest is a national Executive Search Firm exclusive to the Senior Living Industry established in 2001.  We recruit and acquire exceptional long term care talent, permanent and interim, for all types of Senior Living Organizations and Communities across the US including Assisted Living, Continuing Care Retirement Communities, Independent Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Contact MedBest at info@www.medbest.com / 727-526-1294