Nebraska lawmakers are addressing the ongoing hospital staffing emergency statewide. On Tuesday state senator Mike McDonnell introduced the Front Line Nurse Premium Pay bill. It would ask the state to appropriate $50 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to award premium pay bonuses to nurses who have been on the front lines of the pandemic.
“Telling those nurses thank you for the work you’ve done, you’re going to continue to do, but also recognizing that you do need help. The level of burnout right now both physically and mentally,” McDonnel says.
Linda Stone has been an RN for 30 years and says the fatigue and stress from caring for COVID-19 patients is overwhelming. “We get to know them, we get to know their families and when the end comes, it’s hard,” Stone says. “Holding their hands, helping their loved ones say goodbye and those people don’t leave their minds.”
Stone says the nurses working now have seen more death in three years than she has in her 30 year career. There are three other bills designed to support health care workers and rebuild the state’s health care workforce.
Senator Patty Pansing-Brooks introduced a bill that appropriates $5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to create new full-time positions that will oversee the seven Career and Technical Education Programs within the Nebraska Department of Education.
Senator Robert Hilkemann introduced the Care Team Innovation Grant bill. This bill will ask the state to appropriate $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. It will allow Nebraska DHHS to establish a competitive application process for grants for hospitals to explore new and innovative ways of health care delivery.
Senator Myron Dorn will soon be introducing the Nebraska Nursing Incentive Act bill. This bill will ask the state to appropriate $5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act. It will allow for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to administer scholarships to public or private postsecondary institutions for approved nursing programs.