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Nursing groups ask committee to codify nursing workforce center to sustain data and training efforts
Summary
The Massachusetts Nurses, nursing council and other groups urged lawmakers to create a permanent Nursing Workforce Center (H2397/S1593) to continue workforce data collection, apprenticeships and training programs and reduce reliance on temporary funding streams.
Representatives of the American Nurses Association Massachusetts (ANAMAS) and the Nursing Council on Workforce Sustainability urged the Joint Committee on Public Health to make the council a permanent Nursing Workforce Center through H2397/S1593.
Sil D’Amelo (identified in testimony as Sil D’Amelo), president of ANAMAS, told the committee that Massachusetts is one of 45 states with permanent workforce centers and argued the state should codify the Nursing Council’s work to ensure ongoing data collection and program continuity. D’Amelo said the council currently operates with two full‑time staff and many volunteers and that the work is vulnerable to funding shifts.
Jay Prosser, executive director of the Nursing Council on Workforce Sustainability, described initiatives the council has advanced: nursing apprenticeships, high‑school pathways, and data collection used to refine vacancy rates and future supply estimates. Prosser told members the council’s current work is performed under interagency agreements and would benefit from a statutory home to protect continuity and expand replication of training programs.
The witnesses asked for a favorable report and emphasized that a permanent center would support long‑term workforce planning for Massachusetts’ largest health care profession.
Ending: Committee members acknowledged workforce pressures and noted the proposal’s potential to stabilize data collection and apprenticeships; no vote occurred at the hearing.
