Program launched to ‘support the next generation of RNs’
Marilyn Staff, director of care coordination at FedPoint, discusses the company’s new scholarship program, which is aimed at helping reduce the severe shortage of nurses.
A Seacoast company is stepping up to the plate in an effort to bolster the nursing profession hit hard by the pandemic.
FedPoint, which is based on the Newington side of the Pease International Tradeport, has announced a program to award four $5,000 scholarships each year to New Hampshire, Maine or Massachusetts residents accepted into accredited nursing programs.
“We believe it’s critical to educate potential candidates on the benefits of nursing as a career path and support the next generation of RNs,” said Paul Forte, FedPoint’s CEO.
“These scholarships are intended to help attract qualified candidates to the profession, make a meaningful financial contribution to their training, and serve as a token of our gratitude to those who commit to this venerable field.”
FedPoint administers the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP), the largest group long-term care insurance program in the country. It currently oversees policies for more than 265,000 federal civilian and military enrollees. The company employs several dozen registered nurses who provide care coordination services for claimants and family members.
Until its rebranding in 2020, FedPoint was known as LTC Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company. The company is located on Arboretum Drive on the Tradeport.
“As the FLTCIP administrator, we are keenly aware of the demand for registered nurses,” said Forte. “This need was underscored during the pandemic, and with 73 million baby boomers in the United States continuing to reach retirement age, ensuring that enough high-quality care is available in the coming years has never been more important.”
According to the American Nurses Association, more registered nurse jobs will be available through 2022 than any other profession in the United States. An article in the Nursing Times cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections that more than 275,000 additional nurses are needed from 2020 to 2030. Meanwhile, employment opportunities for nurses are projected to grow at a faster rate (9 percent) than all other occupations from 2016 through 2026.
New Hampshire, as with other states, has struggled to address the nursing shortage. At its worst during the pandemic, some hospitals in the state had to call on traveling nurses to buttress their ranks, even depending on the National Guard to help with certain duties to free up time for nursing staff.
‘Nurse burnout’
A Southern New Hampshire University review of the situation cited four primary factors for the nursing shortage: 1. Retiring nurses or those choosing to leave the profession, 2. The aging population necessitates increasing the level of care patients require, 3. Nursing faculty shortage capping pre-licensure admission capacity, and 4. Nursing burnout.
“With the nursing shortage and the complexity of healthcare needs, many nurses are overworked and emotionally exhausted,” the SNHU report said. “Nurses are choosing to leave the profession. If the nursing shortage is not addressed, nurses will continue to leave the profession due to burnout. If nurse burnout is not addressed, the United States will continue to deal with a nursing shortage. It is a cycle that needs to be broken.”
There are efforts in the Granite State to help. For example, there is a new partnership that Concord Hospital announced with New England College to allow nursing students to be hired during their training.
“During the COVID era, we lost so many outstanding frontline nurses due to burnout,” said Marilyn Staff, a registered nurse and FedPoint’s director of care coordination. “These scholarships are a way to recognize, support and thank those choosing to enter a profession that not only revolves around caring for others, but also doing so under difficult and stressful circumstances.”
FedPoint will partner with nurses from several regional institutions, including the Emergency Nurses Association’s New Hampshire State Council, Cornerstone Visiting Nurse Association and Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital Network. They will be on the application review panel, along with members of FedPoint’s own care coordination team.
FedPoint said it will announce the scholarship winners each spring to coincide with National Nurses Week with the first awards being made in May 2023.
Additional details about the scholarship, eligibility requirements, and the application timeline will be available on FedPoint’s website (fedpointusa.com) in the months ahead.
