Home Health Expansion Requires Innovation in Nursing Education

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the central role of nurses as the nexus of quality homecare. Their value, in all of their forms, has never been clearer: Nurses are leaders, care coordinators, highly-skilled caregivers, assessors, medical technology managers, teachers, and lifelines for family caregivers. During the pandemic, nurses have responded to incredible demands; therefore, it is no surprise that the nursing profession remains highly trusted by the public.1 The post-pandemic landscape for homecare and other health services, unfortunately, includes a limited supply of nurses that, if unaddressed, will constrain any expansion of the home health field. Long-term trends—including Medicare and payer initiatives to reduce the costs associated with unnecessary or avoidable hospital and post-acute facility stays, consumer preference for aging in place at home when possible, and expanded use of telehealth in the home—will all increasingly fuel demand for home health and, therefore, nurses. The demand for nursing services—including the need for more nurse faculty, researchers, and primary care providers—is most evident in the projected number of openings each year for registered nurses (RNs). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that the nation will need 175,900 new RNs per year through 2029, after accounting for nurse retirements and workforce exits.2 Indeed, nursing is among the top professions in terms of job growth, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing has reported that the RN workforce is expected to reach 3.3 million participants in 2029, an increase of 7% versus 2019.