NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In late 2001, with more than 110,000 nurses needed to fill vacant positions nationwide, the United States was in the throes of the worst nursing shortage in its history. Just over five years later, more than 500,000 men and women have entered the nursing profession.

However, much still remains to be done to stave off a long-term health care crisis, as the perfect storm of aging baby boomers, retiring nurses and a critical shortage of nursing faculty still lead the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to forecast 1 million nurse staffing vacancies by 2020.

Five years ago, Johnson & Johnson launched the Campaign for Nursing's Future to enhance the overall image of the nursing profession as well as to recruit new nurses and nurse faculty. The nursing campaign has built many partnerships, and is cited routinely as a major success story in the developing turn-around in nurse staffing.

“The nursing community is extremely grateful to Johnson & Johnson for their strong commitment to revitalizing interest in professional nursing careers, said Dr. Geraldine "Polly" Bednash, executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). “Since the start of the Campaign for Nursing’s Future, nursing schools nationwide have experienced significant increases in enrollment and graduations. Now we need to focus on preparing more qualified faculty to accommodate all those interested in entering the nursing profession."

In 2006, nearly 43,000 qualified applicants to baccalaureate and graduate nursing school programs were turned away primarily due to an insufficient number of faculty, according to recent data by the AACN.

“Further compounding this nursing staffing issue is a critical shortage of nursing school faculty, whom we desperately need to teach our nursing students,” said Dr. Marla Salmon, dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta. “Efforts by the Campaign for Nursing’s Future have been pivotal in helping to increase awareness of career opportunities within nursing and improve nursing education, as well as help to drive annual double-digit increases in nursing school enrollment.”

Now in its fifth year, the Campaign has been expanded with a growing emphasis on nurse faculty recruitment and retention. On May 9, the Campaign for Nursing’s Future will launch a new television advertising campaign, which will include nurse faculty ads for the first time, as well as a new web site—www.campaignfornursing.com—designed to address nurse and nurse faculty retention with career training and professional development opportunities. 

Additional components of the Campaign include print and interactive advertising of real nurses in action, as well as a comprehensive web site, www.discovernursing.com, containing searchable links to hundreds of nursing scholarships, more than 2,000 accredited nursing educational programs, funding resources, and information on more than 100 specialties for individuals who are interested in pursuing a career in nursing.

“Johnson & Johnson has always had a special relationship with nurses,” said Andrea Higham, director, The Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future. “When we launched the Campaign five years ago, we knew we had to act on a crisis that would not only greatly impact nurses, but the larger health care community as well. There is significant data which demonstrates that as nurse staffing levels decrease, or become over-burdened, patient health care quality declines, and patient mortality rates increase. This staffing crisis has a very real impact on anyone who needs health care.”

Since its inception, the Campaign has distributed more than 15 million pieces of recruitment materials to schools, health centers, and every high school career center in the country. Additionally, nearly 30 Promise of Nursing fund-raising galas—sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, and hosted in cooperation with local and regional hospitals and health care organizations in cities and regions where the nursing shortage is most acute—have raised in excess of $12 million, funding 800 renewable student scholarships, 250 renewable faculty fellowships and 150 nursing school grants. All funds raised stay within the cities and regions where the galas have been held.

“We don’t believe it to be a coincidence that more of today’s nursing students are choosing to major in nursing,” added Higham. “Of the 10 most popular college majors, nursing has moved from nearly the bottom of the list into the fourth ranking over the last few years. We’ve made great progress, but much more work remains to be done.”

In 2006, the White House awarded the 2004-2005 Ron L. Brown Award for Corporate Leadership to Johnson & Johnson for the Campaign for Nursing’s Future. This award is presented to companies demonstrating a deep commitment to innovative initiatives which give back to the greater community at large.

ABOUT JOHNSON & JOHNSON

Johnson & Johnson is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care products, as well as a provider of related services, for the consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical devices and diagnostic markets. The more than 250 Johnson & Johnson operating companies employ approximately 121,000 men and women in 57 countries and sell products throughout the world. For more information, visit www.jnj.com.

Contacts

Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems, New York

Kristen Wallace, 732-562-3527

kwallace@hcsus.jnj.com

or

GCI Group

Natasha Antao, 404-260-3512

nantao@gcigroup.com