Nursing shortage

There’s a nursing shortage in Arizona. One state lawmaker has a bill that would help ease that by helping to educate more nurses.

Transcript:

>> Feliciano Vera:
Tonight on "Horizon": State lawmakers continue to work on a budget. You'll get an update from the Senate president. There's a nursing shortage in Arizona. One state lawmaker has a bill that would help ease that by helping to educate more nurses. And a new campaign designed to educate minorities about home buying myths kicked off today. We'll discuss those topics next on "Horizon".

>> "Horizon" is made possible by the Friends of Channel 8, members who provide financial support to this Arizona PBS station. Thank you.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Before we get to our topics tonight, here are a couple of late-breaking stories. The citizens clean elections commission has cleared six Republicans of an allegation that their campaigns received under the table money from the club for growth, a national anti-tax group. The six cleared Republicans are Ron Gould, Jack harper, Colette Rosati, Pam Gorman, all lawmakers. Two who ran for office, Robert Ditchey and Anton Orlich, were also cleared. The Arizona Department of Health Services has a new director. Governor Janet Napolitano announced today that she appointed former state lawmaker Sue Gerard to head the agency, replacing the retiring director, Katharine Eden. The governor says Gerard brings years of experience and understanding of complex health issues to the job. It's been more than a month since Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed budget bills sent to her by the legislature. Since then, Republican legislative leaders have met with the governor, but have yet to send her a new budget. One of the delays is the effort by Republicans to pass a budget without any help from democratic lawmakers. Here now to give us an update on the budget process is Senate president Ken Bennett. Mr. President, how are doing today?

>> Ken Bennett:
Good.

>> Feliciano Vera:
It's been a month since the governor vetoed the budget you sent up. Can you give us an update?

>> Ken Bennett:
The speaker and I met with the governor almost daily for about two weeks. We became familiar with many of the items that she wants and many of the items that the legislature would like, as well. We recently got to a point where we needed to go back and talk with our caucuses, with the 30 in the Senate and 60 in the house and see if we could come up with a package that we could send back to her that she could accept and hopefully we're getting close to doing that.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Why try to pass a budget without any support from democratic lawmakers?

>> Ken Bennett:
We never said we want to do a budget without Democrat vote. What we have said is we want 16 of the 18 Republicans that are the majority caucus in the Senate and 31 of the 38 Republicans in the house. People have questioned, why do you want to do that. If you go back to the early '90s when for a couple years the Democrats had a 17-13 edge. As the majority controlling party of Senate, they made sure that a budget met Of course, the majority of their party. So we hope to be able to get something as I said 16 and 31 Republicans, but democrats as well can join and of course the governor's vote as a Democrat, we need that, as well.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Is there a sense the governor is trying to force the issue on specific priorities in her package?

>> Ken Bennett:
She has priorities she wants resolved and the legislature has ours, as well. The budget that we send up in March focused on education, public safety and health. It focused on fiscal responsibility. We had more money in K-12 education in the budget that we sent her in March than she had requested back in January by almost 100 million or more in additional funding for K-12, 6 million in developmentally developed, 300 million less in borrowing which saves the state 10s of millions of dollars per year that can be put into programs. All day K is one of the important ones she has put on the table. The Republican caucuses have said we would also like to expand parental choice where the children go to school.

>>Feliciano Vera:
Doesn't that spell an automatic veto from the governor.

>> Ken Bennett:
I think anything would be posturing. Most of our priorities match up and we're talking about a few million dollars difference and $8 billion of the total state budget. If one side is going to get some things they want, the other side ought to get some they want, too.

>>Feliciano Vera:
One the governor wants is a downtown medical school. Is there progress?

>> Ken Bennett:
There is progress, two reports arrived at the legislature that we are been asking for several weeks that we demand explanation as to the 6 or $7 million requested. We know that can't be the entirety. We're asking for the complete picture, year one, five and ten and what piece is the legislature going to be. The reports that have come in, they have quite a bit of detail as far as years one and two. We hope to get a little more detail a little further out. This is a multi year, hundreds of millions project.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Have there been any more meetings with yourself, Weiers and the governor on the budget?

>> Ken Bennett:
The first two weeks were exclusively the three of us on a daily basis, the last couple weeks it has been the speaker working with the members of the house, myself and the senate. Once we take the next step, which is the bill passing out of the house, with all-day K, tuition credits, she agrees to see if we can send up a budget that we agree on.

>> Feliciano Vera:
When do you expect that?

>> Ken Bennett:
It looks like the early of next week.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Does that have any impact for signing?

>> Ken Bennett:
We picked by April 15. If we get it done in the week or two, we will be ahead of schedule. I think we're starting to get a little more used to working as a divided government, Democrat governor and Republican-controlled legislature. What's important is not Republican versus Democrat, what's good for Arizona is what we should be doing. So I think we can do that next week, I hope.

>> Feliciano Vera:
President Bennett, thank you.

>> Ken Bennett:
Thank you.

>>Feliciano Vera:
In 2003, Arizona ranked near the bottom out of all states in the number of employed nurses. One of the reasons for our nursing shortage is the lack of nursing instructors. We'll talk to a local health official, but first, here's more about our nursing shortage and the bill that should help ease it.

>> Mike Sauceda:
Although Arizona's population continues to grow, the number of nurses in our state is not keeping up. Arizonans have 606 nurses per 100,000 residents compared to the national average of 784 per 100,000 people. That puts Arizona at number 48 in the number of nurses per capita. In 2003, Arizona hospitals reported an average 15% registered nurse vacancy rate. The shortage of full time equivalent RNs in all care settings in Arizona is projected to go from 17% in 2000 to 25% in 2010. One of the reasons is a bottleneck in the nursing education system. In 2003, 756 qualified applicants were turned away from Arizona nursing education programs because of a lack of capacity. Nursing programs face a number of problems including a significant shortage of faculty. In the summer of 2004, four universities reported 14 open R.N. faculty positions and 18 community colleges reported 19 open R.N. faculty positions. Senate Bill 1294, sponsored by Senator Allen, designed to alleviate nursing shortages by providing $4 million of state money matched by $4 million in federal money to increase the salaries of current nursing teachers to match salaries in the nursing profession and to hire new faculty. The bill would provide $8 million annually for five Years.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Here now to tell us more on the Senate bill to increase nursing education is John Rivers, president and CEO of the Arizona hospital and healthcare association. Welcome.

>> John Rivers:
Thank you.

>> Feliciano Vera:
How much of the factor of lack of nursing instructors impact the shortage of nurses?

>> John Rivers:
We have no shortage of people who want to be nurses, we have a shortage of faculty in our community colleges and universities to teach those students. We had almost 800 students turned away last year. It is not just a small problem, it is a full-blown crisis in Arizona and it's going to get even worse if we don't do something about it.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Now, are we losing nursing instructors because of the market? Is it a matter of them commanding higher salaries as practitioners than instructors?

>> John Rivers:
It has more to do with money than anything else. The community colleges and universities part of it is money because our universities cannot pay the nursing faculty what they should pay them. In order to be competitive in the market place. They need to pay their existing faculty as well as new faculty more than they're now being paid. That's what they have to do to get the faculty that they need.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Lack of instructors, what other factors contribute to the nursing shortage in the state?

>> John Rivers:
It's a lack of capacity generally. Because to educate a nurse, you need faculty, classroom space, physical space on the campus of the university or community college, you need clinical space in our hospitals to provide what are called clinical rotations for nursing students to get their clinical experience to become a nurse. So there are a whole range of things that are needed, some is capital, some of it is operating but the bill to which you refer is only to fund the operating costs necessary with expanding our nursing capacity.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Let's talk about Senate bill 1294, $4 million in state funding with a $4 million federal match. Where does the federal match come from?

>> John Rivers:
From Congress. I'm leaving for Washington tomorrow morning with many of our members to talk to our delegation about several issues. This is on top of the list. Most of our congressional people have been very supportive but they have said we want to see what the state legislature does first. The state legislature, as you heard the Senate president, who by the way has been very supportive of our nursing initiative, the state legislature is on the verge of approving that $4 million per year over a five-year period. We are confident that once the budget wraps up that will provide enough of an additional incentive for our federal legislators to get moving. They have been waiting to see what the state legislature will do first.

>> Feliciano Vera:
What is the status of 1294?

>> John Rivers:
It's in what they call the box. In other words, there's, when they fund all the things that they know they need to fund and they have a, there's a wish list of legislators of additional things they would like to fund if the money is there, so the money that's there in the box right now is about $15 million. If you look at the wish list of, that people have for that money, it's about $30 million. So that list is going to have to be cut down. We simply hope that our nursing initiative survives that process because as I said, it's not just a small problem, it is a full-blown crisis.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Where does the governor stand?

>> John Rivers:
She is very supportive. We have no question if that bill gets on her desk, she will sign it.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Arizona is 48th in the number of registered nurses. What other aspects of the problem can be tackled at a state level that your organization is addressing right now?

>> John Rivers:
The money is the big thing that the state legislature is going to address but the private sector at the state level is doing a lot to help solve the problem. There's a lot of scholarship money, millions available for young people who want to become nurses. Every health care system in the state has partnered with a community college or university to get money for that institution. So there is a tremendous private-public collaboration. The one piece missing in the puzzle is more capacity in the universities and community colleges.

>> Feliciano Vera:
John rivers, thank you.

>> John Rivers:
You're very welcome.

>> Feliciano Vera:
A recent study by Freddie Mac, a corporation set up by Congress to increase the supply of money available to home buyers, found that only half the difference between white and non-white homeownership rates can be attributed to things like income, age of household and length of residency. The research uncovered a series of myths about home buying that are keeping minorities from even considering buying a home. An education campaign kicked off today in Phoenix to fight those myths. We'll talk to a Freddie Mac National official, but first, Mike Sauceda tells us more about the campaign.

>> We're here to tell you it's worth trying.

>> Mike Sauceda:
the lunchtime conference to kick-off the Homeownership campaign, "let the proof move you" was held at patriots park in downtown Phoenix. The campaign partners Freddie Mac, of Chase Home Finance, ACORN, the group that helps low-income people get homes, and local black and hispanic realty organizations.

>> Patricia Garcia
Duarte: our partnership today represents a significant step to increasing homeownership and providing financing options for minorities and typically under-served communities. We know this partnership will work because we have the right people with the right focus and dedication. To improve the quality of life for these consumers. We realize that under-served is not simply a matter of economic status, but rather matters of outreach -- access to information and having the tools and the resources to effect change.

>> Mike Sauceda:
In the valley 51% of minorities own a home compared to 74 % of non-minorities. 52% of Hispanics in the Phoenix area own their own homes. 45% of African Americans are homeowners. Freddie Mac found that myths such as needing an almost perfect credit reporting, or requiring 20% down and being at the same job at 3 years or more is the part of what's keeping minorities from owning their own home. ACORN has been helping people get into homes since 1970.

>> Gayle Randolph:
Last year we had 1200 families come to our door and we were able to put 500 families into homes. I want to say -- that's right. And we're going to continue that success again because of the partnerships that we have here today with Freddie and Chase Bank.

>> Mike Sauceda:
At the event, those interested were able to sign up for seminars to learn more about home buying and were able to get information on the spot. One of those were Cedric Smiley who owns a coffee shop in downtown Phoenix, he hopes to buy a home soon, he does agree that there are home buying myths.

>> Cedric Smiley:
There's a lot of red tape. They would have you think it's a simple process and a lot of times there is a lot of variables that make a difference.

>> Mike Sauceda:
He thinks the education campaign is a good thing.

>> Cedric Smiley:
Absolutely, and however they can do that, educate people is a plus.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Here now to tell us more about the homeownership: Let the truth move you campaign is Alfonso de Lucio, the director of expanding markets for Freddie Mac. Welcome.

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
Thank you.

>> Feliciano Vera:
The event that you kicked off is that a national campaign?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
It's a national campaign being rolled out at a local level. Today we are pleased to roll it out in Phoenix.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Tell us a little more about the study that Freddie Mac has conducted.

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
We actually found out that there's a significant gap right now between the non-minority population and African American, Hispanic population. We find out that about 40% of Hispanics and African Americans feel you need 20% to put down to buy a home. That's not the case anymore. The perfect credit or need to be in the same job for three years or lack of trust that they will share information among each other, because of the misconceptions, people write themselves out of homeownership.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Why is it that these are so persistent among the households?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
We're not sure. What we're looking for is how do we get the right information out there to Hispanic and African American households. We're not too focused on why they believe the wrong information, how do we get the information to them.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Are these misconceptions and myths held by people of low income or does ethnicity play into these myths and the perpetuation of these myths?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
We don't believe it's got anything to do with income, it's just a lack of information getting to folks. We have seen that yes, we are more prevalent in the minority communities than the non-minority communities. We are focusing marketing that campaign to Hispanics and African Americans.

>> Feliciano Vera:
How will the campaign combat the myths and misconceptions?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
It does a couple of things. It goes well beyond getting the right information but what we're doing is working with chase home finance in this case, as well as in Phoenix with a local organization, acorn housing to promote what are the facts about homeownership. It goes beyond that. It brings together the right parties and shows consumers what are the steps that they need to take in order to pursue homeownership. In the case where there might be some challenges people might have with their credit, Acorn housing can work with them to show them the steps to qualify for a mortgage.

>> Feliciano Vera:
You partner with acorn and other associations. How do you believe that will help you deliver this message and clarify these misconceptions among your targeted populations?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
We're looking for in our local partners is knowledge of the community and organizations like acorn housing that have earned the trust of the communities that they work with. That's critical to be able to go out and be credible with folks about the message trying to deliver. As I mentioned earlier, one of the things that is a misconception about your financial information being shared among financial institutions. It's lack of trust people have. Working with local organizations that know the community and have access to folks and credibility, we think that's a critical component.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Are you going to be working with your partners to deliver educational seminars?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
Absolutely. It's a one hour workshop to get people engaged in homeownership. They are not selling anything, they are not taking much information, it's a no commitment one our seminar.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Latinos are a large pores of the potential pool of home buyers? Do you find they are more susceptible because of the language barrier?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
We are prepared to help in either language, English or Spanish. It's not necessarily that it's just for the Hispanic community but overall we are looking at how do we increase -- how do we get to the community in a way that they're comfortable? English or Spanish in this case.

>> Feliciano Vera:
-- important is homeownership to wealth building?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
It's the most important way to build trans generational wealth. The people that live there get more involved in the community, make it a better place to live. To answer your question directly, if you are looking at paying rent, you will never see a return on that. If you are buying a home and paying a mortgage, you are continuing to invest in your own financial future. Not only are you paying down a loan and -- but as well as in most cases the equity of the home keeps going up. So you end up getting a very good return and you can build wealth that can be passed on from generation to generation.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Besides the lack of information about the home buying process, what other factors are there that contribute to the low numbers of homeownership?

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
We have seen mistrust or not being comfortable or knowledgeable about the process. We have also seen that in some cases it as been a credit issue and one thing that we want to make sure people understand is there are things you can do, there are steps you can take to improve your credit. It's not going to happen over night, but it could be six months, could be a year, and that's why have engaged acorn housing to help you with overcoming credit challenges.

>> Feliciano Vera:
Thank you so much.

>> Alfonso de Lucio:
Thank you very much for having me.

>> Feliciano Vera:
If you'd like more information about "Horizon", go to our website at www.az.pbs.org. Once you get to our home page, click on the word "Horizon" to see transcripts or information about upcoming shows.

>> Larry Lemmons:
The soda and candy will come out of the elementary and middle schools next year after the governor signs the junk food bill. And a poll shows support for the minuteman project along the Arizona-Mexico border. Join us Friday at 7 for the journalist as roundtable.

>> Feliciano Vera:
I'm Feliciano Vera in for Michael Grant. Have a good evening.