Kirsten Gillibrand on New York's nursing shortage

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) was dead-on in her post on Congress Blog yesterday. The country is certainly suffering from a shortage of nurses, and Gillibrand's home state of New York is no exception.

Here's some of what she had to say:

We have a serious nursing shortage in New York State and right here in New York City. Hospitals and other health care providers are experiencing vacancies today, and over the next 10 years, we’re on a path for the problem to only get worse as the need for nurses grows.

The numbers are startling. My office recently released a report showing that in New York City, we’ll need 59,694 more nurses over the next 10 years to provide quality care for our families.

New York is not alone. Communities in every corner of America struggle to fill nursing vacancies to provide care for everyone who needs it.

Earlier this month, Gillibrand unveiled a four-step plan to combat the shortage, addressing both the short-term crisis and long-term actions to prevent a similar problem in the future.

Hard to believe she's only been in the Senate since January isn't it? Here at EMILY's List, we watched Gillibrand become a rising star in the House, and we couldn't be prouder of what she's accomplishing in the Senate.

Click here to read all of Kirsten's blog on the nursing shortage.