Region's Boom Magnifies Lack of Nurses, Technicians

During the tech boom of the mid-'90s, Robert Templin, then the director of the Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon, watched Northern Virginia tech companies fight over workers and try to lure employees from other cities, driving up salaries during a serious labor shortage.

Since becoming president of Northern Virginia Community College in 2002, he has noticed the same thing happening in the health-care industry. Hospitals compete fiercely for a dwindling supply of nurses and technicians -- the area has lost about 5,000 nurses over the past six years, mainly to retirement and burnout, while the number of new workers being trained and certified remained stagnant.

"The demand for nurses has doubled in the past decade, yet schools are turning out less than half the number needed," he said.

So Templin tried to get hospitals to work together instead of competing against each other and earlier this year forged a partnership between local colleges and hospitals to subsidize larger nursing faculties and training programs. That way, he said, "we can increase the supply of nurses before hospitals start fighting over them."

The nationwide shortage of health-care workers is magnified in the Washington region, where a growing population of affluent, educated residents expects access to top-notch technologies and personnel.

"It's not just a question of quality of life -- it's about economic competition," Templin said. "We recruit the best and the brightest in other fields to come here, and they demand quality health care. If they can't get access to it here, they'll go elsewhere. Then all companies will have a harder time retaining employees."

According to Templin, a surplus of health-care workers about 15 years ago caused colleges and universities to reduce the capacity of nursing programs, thus constricting the pipeline of students and future faculty members.

Now the shortage is in full swing. Today, this region has 682 trained nurses per 100,000 residents, according to the Greater Washington Initiative -- 30 percent fewer than the national average. It has only 334 nurse's aides per 100,000 residents, compared with 483 nationally -- ranking it last among the benchmark cities the initiative compared.

The region has plenty of physicians and pharmacists with advanced degrees, the study found. What is lacking are workers in professions that require two-year associate degrees. From 1999 to 2005, for example, the region lost an estimated 1,400 dental assistants and hygienists.

"You can have twice the number of doctors and still not solve the problem without nurses," Templin said. "It's the Achilles' heel of the Washington metro area."

More than 60 percent of the nation's new registered nurses and the majority of allied health professionals receive their training through community colleges, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Each year, Northern Virginia Community College graduates about 1,000 health-care workers, about 200 of whom are nurses. That's far from enough, Templin said.

That's why he has spearheaded the Northern Virginia Health Care Workforce Alliance to bring together hospitals and colleges to battle the shortage. George Mason, Marymount, Old Dominion and Shenandoah universities are increasing their programs, while 10 hospitals, including the Inova Health System, Potomac Hospital, Reston Hospital Center and Prince William Hospital, are subsidizing faculty training.

With $4 million raised from the state, federal government and hospitals, the alliance hopes to double the number of nurses and increase the number of health technicians by 50 percent over the next four years.

Without similar efforts in Maryland and the District, the newly trained workers could be lured across the river, Templin said. Then hospitals in Northern Virginia will be right back where they started.

-- Kim Hart