GVSU nursing dean leads regional response to nursing shortage

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Michigan's Department of Labor and Growth estimates there will be a shortage of 7,000 nurses in 2010. By 2020, the state's shortage could reach 30,000.

Phyllis Gendler, dean of the Kirkhof College of Nursing at Grand Valley State University, has helped pushed the issue to the forefront in West Michigan and the state. Recently, Gendler and David Baumgartner, vice president of medical affairs at Saint Mary's Health Care, were featured in the cover story, "Where will the nurses come from?" in West Michigan M.D. News, a bimonthly publication that showcases area physicians, hospitals and clinics. The story is online at www.mdnews-westmi.net .

She said one of the greatest challenges related to the nursing shortage is also the shortage of qualified faculty members. Nationally, more than 32,000 applicants to nursing programs were turned away because of lack of available spaces.

Gendler is also chair of the West Michigan Nursing Advisory Council, an affiliate of the 12-county Alliance for Health in Grand Rapids. The grassroots group organized in 2000 and is now considered a best practice model in Michigan for collaboration and for helping address the nursing shortage.

For example, GVSU and Spectrum Health received a state training grant to implement an accelerated bachelor's degree program for nursing candidates.

Gendler can be reached for interviews at (616) 331-3558.