Munson, NMC cheer 4-year nursing degree bill

Dec. 2—TRAVERSE CITY — Northwestern Michigan College and Munson Healthcare officials voiced support for new legislation to allow community colleges to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.

Michigan State Rep. John Roth introduced two bills — House Bills 5556-57 — on Nov. 10 to amend the Community College Act and allow community colleges to offer four-year nursing degrees. House Bill 5556 would allow the boards of trustees of community colleges to establish a nursing education program that grants a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSNs) and House Bill 5557 would amend the definition of community college in the Community College Act to provide that a qualifying institution could offer a BSN.

Colleges would not be able to eliminate associate degree programs in exchange for a nursing program, unless there was a clear lack of student demand for the associate degree program in question.

Roth said he hopes this new legislation will pass in the House before the end of the year. He said he thinks there will be enough support for it to pass on a "close vote" but he is unsure of the votes in the Senate.

"We'll see. We'll work hard to get it done, but we're not giving up on it," Roth said. "It's been going on for 15 years, and we're not going to give up because the need is even greater than it was, probably, 15 years ago."

The Michigan Legislature has made many attempts to amend the Community College Act to let colleges award bachelor's degrees in the past several years. In 2012, the state legislature amended the Community College Act to let colleges offer four-year degrees in Cement Technology, Culinary Arts, Energy Production and Maritime Technology, according to Northwestern Michigan College's website.

In 2012, the legislature also considered allowing community colleges to offer BSNs, but nursing was excluded over the course of the legislative process.

Roth said the new legislation will address a "serious need" for more nurses, especially during the pandemic.

"We already had a nursing shortage before the COVID pandemic started. Now, the burnout rate is so much higher for nurses," Roth said. "We're losing too many nurses too quick and we're not replacing them fast enough at all."

Allowing more people to earn BSNs at community college like NMC will be especially important for the Grand Traverse County area, Roth said, which has an increasingly older population.

"It's going to do nothing but add to the value of our hospital system by getting more nurses to take care of folks," Roth said.

On Nov. 30, the Michigan House heard testimonies from those in favor and those opposed to the bills. Judy Didion, dean of Oakland University's School of Nursing, testified against the bills.

Didion said individuals can use online programs to earn BSNs if they do not want to move out of their communities, and the bill would likely not add more nurses to the workforce.

"We believe that if this bill were passed it would only exacerbate the problem that face our state's existing associate and baccalaureate nursing programs by creating unnecessary duplication, worsen existing faculty shortages and further limit the lack of clinical placement availability and ultimately increase educational costs for taxpayers and students without adding any additional new RNs into the workforce," Didion said.

To the point that it would cost taxpayers more, Roth said he doesn't "see that at all." He also said people should have more of choice outside of online because there are some flaws with online BSN programs.

"At the end of online, you can't get the clinical application where you have hands-on work inside the hospitals because there's no one there to facilitate that operation," Roth said.

Roth said nurses unions have not given him a strong stance on the issue; he said they told him they are "neutral" on it.

Gabe Schneider, director of Government Relations for Munson Healthcare, testified in front of the Michigan State Legislature in support of the bills on Nov. 30. He said Munson is "very supportive" of the legislation.

Recently, Munson Healthcare has struggled with staffing issues, especially as a current surge in COVID cases in northern Michigan has caused high numbers of inpatients at Munson's healthcare centers. Schneider said Munson Medical Center in Traverse City is short almost 200 bedside nurses to support the number of patients they are seeing.

"This (legislation) would support our healthcare workforce and help to address our critical shortage of healthcare professionals, including nurses," Schneider said.

Munson Healthcare hires more than 100 nurses from community colleges per year with associate degrees in nursing, Schneider said, and, since 2015, Munson has required new nurses to obtain BSNs within five years of employment. Munson helps their nurses earn this higher degree.

"We have a need for more nurses and we have a need for helping to help our nurses obtain a BSN degree," Schneider said. "So it's not just new nurses, but it's also to help support our existing workforce."

NMC President Nick Nissley said he also supports the legislation, as it would allow prospective nurses in northern Michigan to stay in the area instead of moving elsewhere to receive BSNs or receiving their BSNs through online programs.

Nissley said it is also an issue of costs and accessibility.

"If you think of it from a cost perspective, in other words affordability and accessibility, your in-state tuition at NMC is $112 per credit hour. There are four-year privates in Michigan that are upwards of $600 per credit," Nissley said. "So, in other words, you're going to ask a local Traverse City nurse who just earned an associate degree to pay six times more just to go downstate. It just doesn't make sense."

The new legislation would also allow local boards to make individual decisions for their communities, Nissley said.