The healthcare industry makes up a big part of Tallahassee's economy. But the city is still facing the same nursing shortage plaguing much of the state.
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Hosted by Tom Flanigan -
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The latest U.S. Census data reports healthcare is now the third largest industry in Tallahassee, behind only educational services and public administration. In fact, as of 2023, the latest year for which numbers are available, just under fourteen percent of the Capital City's workforce - more than 14,000 people, were in medical and related fields. That's a lot of people. But when it comes to the number of nurses in that overall figure, Stephanie Solomon, director of nursing at Tallahassee State College's Ghazvini Center, says there just aren't enough.
"The need is, of course, really great. Being able to meet the need, we are doing our best here at Tallahassee State College to meet the community need for healthcare workers."
Tallahassee isn't alone. The National Institutes of Health projects more than 275,000 additional nurses will be needed nationwide between now and 2030. Florida's statewide nursing shortage will be around 60,000. The same report says job opportunities for nurses will grow by a faster rate than all other occupations at least through 2026. But Solomon says there are obstacles. One of them, she says, is that many students simply aren't ready to take on the educational demands.
"They are not mentally prepared for the rigor of the program. Not knowing how to balance between their studies and their personal life, they are lacking time management skills. They are lacking effective coping mechanisms and aren't able to handle the stress and anxiety of being in a professional program."
But Solomon says there are efforts in place to help students prepare for the rigorous program. She applauds both of Tallahassee's hospitals for providing scholarships and tuition reimbursements for employees - including nurses - who aspire to career advancement. And she says the launching pad for those jobs even extends into the area's public schools.
"I do know that Leon County Schools offer what I think they call 'Career Academies' in some of their schools. So there are those opportunities for those students. They have a CNA program. We are partnering with Godby High School where we go in and offer our EMT program to some of their high school students."
All of this helps. But Solomon says there is another obstacle that's proving a major choke-point in the nursing pipeline.
"We are at a deficit for nursing educators. I can't educate future nurses if I don't have instructors."
The National League of Nursing agrees with Stephanie Solomon. Its latest Nursing Education Research report pegs the nursing shortage directly to the shortage of nursing educators. Another concern in the nursing field is retention. That's something Dale Neely, the new CEO of HCA Florida Capital Hospital knows something about.
"You know, we're no different than any other hospital in the state or the country for that matter, nurses are hard to find. So you want to make sure when you bring the nurses in that you keep them here, so you've got to support them. You make sure they have the resources they need to do the job and that they're supported."
Data from the Florida hospital association’s 2024 report shows retention rates have improved since the coronavirus pandemic, which greatly exacerbated nursing shortage issues, but officials say there are still improvements left to make.
