WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Florida’s nursing shortage is expected to reach 59,000 vacancies by 2035, according to the Florida Hospital Association, or FHA.

Pasco-Hernando State College just launched a new effort to help curb those numbers: the Nursing & Allied Health Advancement Institute.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida’s nursing shortage is expected to reach 59,000 vacancies by 2035

  • Pasco-Hernando State College just launched a new effort to help curb those numbers: the Nursing & Allied Health Advancement Institute

  • The institute is a partnership among PHSC, local hospitals, and other providers

  • Institute launched this month with the help of $1.5 million in state funds

"The piece that's most exciting to me is that we're going to expand and bring people in, because I think if we bring our clinical partners together or those that choose to be a part of this alliance, we're gonna have a lot of good ideas at the table," said PHSC Dean of Nursing and Health Programs Billie Gabbard.

Nursing has been Gabbard's passion for 35 years, nearly 25 of those as an educator.

"I have seen everything from, you've got plenty of faculty and nursing students galore to this state that we're in now, where we've had an exit of faculty, but we also have had an exit of nursing in general," Gabbard said.

Gabbard said the institute is meant to bring more students, and faculty, to nursing labs like those on the college's Porter Campus.

"Whereas we traditionally would have conversations one-on-one with our community partners, with their needs, we can all come to the table now," said Gabbard.

The institute is a partnership among PHSC, local hospitals, and other providers. It was launched this month with the help of $1.5 million in state funds. Gabbard said the focus will be twofold: addressing the health care worker shortage and getting more nurses to join the ranks of faculty. 

"A major part of that is going to be able to develop the faculty who are going to teach those students, and then when they graduate, then the community gets the benefit of those nurses that are out there," said Gabbard.

Progress is being made in the Sunshine State when it comes to the worker shortage. The 2023 Workforce Report from FHA shows nursing vacancy and turnover rates both dropped by 38% from 2022 - better than the national decreases of six percent and 19 percent, respectively. But there’s still work to be done. Turnover for some positions, like CNAs, patient care technicians, and nursing assistants, still hovers near 40 percent.

"I think too often, it's been approached from the two different sides: the hospitals are working on it, the colleges are working on it. We need to work at it together, and that's what the institute is designed to do," said PHSC President Jesse Pisors.

Pisors said the school is uniquely positioned to launch the institute, both because of its established nursing program and Pasco County's growing life sciences corridor. He told Spectrum News health systems like AdventHealth, BayCare, and HCA all had representatives attend the institute's grand opening on July 17.

"We're also working closely with Moffitt, who of course is building a major new hospital there in Pasco County. We're talking with Orlando Health, who's building a major hospital a stone's throw away from our Porter Campus," said Pisors. "When you think of this part of Florida, even the whole state, all of those major players have a presence in or near Pasco County. So, yes - they're at the table."

Gabbard said with the continued growth of the county, finding the next generation passionate about nursing will be key to filling vacancies. She said state funds will be used to hire a director, develop faculty, and for efforts like new programs for students.