NLN Selected as a Partner in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nurses for Nursing Homes Campaign

NLN Selected as a Partner in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nurses for Nursing Homes Campaign

Federal Recruitment Initiative Aims to Add 4,000 Nurses to Nursing Home Workforce

Washington, DC — The National League for Nursing has been selected through competitive application as one of two organizations nationwide partnering with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement a bold three-year national nursing workforce initiative, the Nursing Home Staffing Campaign. On behalf of the campaign, the League aims to recruit 3,000 new nurses who will seek employment and commit to working a minimum of three years in a nursing home.

The National League for Nursing, as the leader in nursing education and a leading advocate for nurses, answered the call to action that CMS issued to address a dual challenge plaguing the nursing home industry: understaffing at the nation’s vast network of residential facilities and at state agencies tasked with nursing home inspections to enforce compliance with federal health and safety standards. Nursing home staffing has a significant impact on the quality of care that residents receive, and feedback from nursing home staff and residents consistently highlights staffing as a primary concern. 

The National League for Nursing will be responsible for helping CMS expand the nursing home nursing workforce in three designated regions covering 27 states in the Eastern half of the country, plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. CMS has designed the campaign to cover the entire United States, with Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence covering the remaining states.

CMS has announced a range of financial incentives to attract more registered nurses (RNs), as well as licensed practical and vocational nurses (LPN/LVNs), to skilled nursing jobs in nursing homes or to serve in oversight roles within state agencies. Incentives include student loan repayment and stipends to qualified licensed nurses who commit to work in the nursing home or compliance sector for three years. Eligible participants must hold an active RN or LPN/LVN license when they begin employment and meet the program’s other eligibility requirements.

NLN Chief Program Officer Dr. Gordon Gillespie will oversee the League’s commitment to the CMS campaign in a dedicated project called “Developing the Nursing Home Workforce Through the NLN.” Dr. Gillespie will work with a team of project managers brought on to administer and promote the project in collaboration with major stakeholders, such as the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN); Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA); and the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA).

Marketing and recruitment activities already in the works or being planned include the creation of an online portal; social media messaging; commitment to a schedule of professional conferences for exhibition; outreach to certified nurse educators, colleges, and universities to directly aid in presentations to prospective job candidates; and outreach to nursing homes and state agencies within the designated geographic footprint to identify employment opportunities.

In addition, administrative systems are in development for use in tracking job seekers, job openings, and hiring data to assess the project’s progress over the three-year CMS timeline. Another aspect of the project will focus on nurse retention, providing guidance in quarterly webinars to nursing homes on best practices for avoiding nurse burnout, sustaining staff mental health, and nurturing staff morale.

“As America’s population ages and the demand for skilled residential nursing care increases, qualified staff in these facilities are often stretched to the max. Staffing challenges can affect the health, safety, and quality of care of nursing home residents, putting our most vulnerable elderly and disabled patients at risk. The National League for Nursing is honored to have been chosen to participate in this effort undertaken by CMS to meet this problem head on,” said NLN Chair Yolanda VanRiel, PhD, RN, MEDSURG-BC, OCN, CNE, ANEF, FAAN, chair of the Department of Nursing, North Carolina Central University and patient placement coordinator at First Health of the Carolinas-Moore Regional Hospital.

“The National League for Nursing thanks CMS for selecting us to help tackle one of our society’s most important challenges within the health care sector — addressing the shortage of capable nurses to provide the best patient-centered care possible to those in a stage of life when it is truly needed and appreciated,” said NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $4.4 million with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.