US needs 500,000 foreign nurses
It's hard to believe when President Barack Obama said during a healthcare summit held at the White House recently about the plan of the United States government to import at least 500,000 foreign nurses to fill up the current shortage that now beset most hospitals across the country. President Obama's positive announcement was in response to a healthcare industry executive's report in the same summit whereby she underscored the strong need to hire foreign nurses, in close consultation with the immigration authorities, owing to the sagging quality of patient care in some hospitals and nursing facilities across the country. Resources for the hiring program could be taken from the recent stimulus economic package approved by President Obama. At this juncture, some of the State governments have already availed their share of the stimulus package, while others have continued to ignore the federal government's call for them to do the same. Healthcare industry observers have c