PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Hospitals across the country have been working to address a nursing shortage. In the Tampa Bay area, BayCare is coming into funding to help train and develop the nursing workforce.
Alexis De Caro will tell you she's always drawn to medicine.
"After applying to the PCT program and working on the floor for some time, I was able to observe my nurses in action, and I knew that that's where I wanted to be," said De Caro.
She's a nursing student at SPC and works as a nurse apprentice at Mease Dunedin Hospital.
"I do a lot of patient care. I'm kind of the eyes and ears for the nurse," said De Caro.
The Florida Hospital Association said that based on a 2021 analysis, the state faces an overall shortage of 59,000 nurses by 2035.
"BayCare wants to be part of the solution,” said Jackie Munro BayCare's Vice President of Nursing Systems and Resources.
BayCare said it received nearly $1 million in federal funds to help train more nurses and grow the nursing workforce.
"We believe that these federal funds they've received will be able to expand some of our existing programs: our patient care technician program, our LPN program, and registered nurse partnership programs,” said Munro.
BayCare said the funds would be instrumental to bringing more nurses into the field, anticipating training 30 more practical nurses, 120 more PCTs, and 12 more RN first-year students.
"Additionally, the funding we believe will also help support the purchase of simulation equipment that helps advance our student nurses' knowledge as well as critical thinking skills when providing safe, quality patient care,” said Munro.
De Caro graduates in December, soon on her way to join the workforce.
“You have your patients that are definitely tough, but then you see at the end of the day how rewarding it is when you turn their day around, or you make their day with their family members, and they just leave trusting the fact they're in good hands in your care, and that itself is rewarding,” said De Caro.
