Letter Template #2- For staffing companies ****Due to congressional mail screening procedures, please send your letter via email in order to ensure prompt delivery to the congressional office.*** Email addresses click here
Dear [member of Congress]: With the national nursing shortage growing and the international staffing infrastructure on the verge of collapse, I urge you to cosponsor the Emergency Nurse Supply Relief Act (H.R. 2536). The nation’s severe nursing shortage, now in its ninth year, challenges hospitals’ and long term care facilities’ ability to operate at full capacity to care for their communities. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 2.8 million new and replacement nurses will be needed by 2020 to address the country’s severe nursing shortage. With the nursing shortage expected to intensify in the coming years, the Emergency Nurse Supply Relief Act provides both short-term and long-term solutions to the problem. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), is specifically targeted to address the critical nursing shortage by allowing qualified immigrant nurses to quickly fill vacancies in our nation’s health care system, while also enhancing the training and retention of U.S.-educated nurses. The legislation would provide up to 20,000 visas per year over a three year period for nurses and physical therapists, allowing healthcare providers to begin filling vacancies within three months of the enactment of the legislation. More importantly, however, the legislation would require sponsoring employers of registered nurses to pay an additional $1500 fee per visa, which would be used to fund sorely needed capitation grants to U.S. nursing schools. Just as hospitals and long term care facilities are struggling to meet increasing nurse staffing demands, the international healthcare staffing industry, a vital nurse supply source, is at risk of collapse due to ongoing visa retrogression. Throughout the country, numerous international staffing companies have curtailed or ceased operations, leaving their hospital clients unable to sufficiently staff their facilities. This is mainly due to the fact that thousands of critically needed healthcare professionals represented by international staffing companies are currently stuck in the immigration queue due to retrogression. Even more troubling is the fact that it would take years to rebuild this critical staffing infrastructure at a time when health systems are in dire need of qualified nurses.
While a comprehensive, long-term solution is the obvious goal, the reality is that the nursing shortage is compromising patient safety now, and immediate action is needed to ensure that health care providers are able to adequately staff their facilities. As a constituent and small business owner, I urge you to cosponsor this important legislation. Thank you for your consideration.