South Jersey Business Trends

Business Trends
Every year, Rutgers University-Camden gets hundreds of applications into its bachelor of science in nursing program.
Registered nurses have been in high demand since the 1960s, and Rutgers-Camden – along with Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Pomona – is one of a few South Jersey schools to offer the program.
Every year, students lured by the job prospects file their paperwork and every year, the school turns away many applicants – only accepting about 40.
Not for qualified students, but because the school – like many others across the nation – doesn’t have enough people to teach the courses.
To address the problem – and the regional and national shortage of nurses – Rutgers-Camden is planning a School of Nursing, that if approved, would expand enrollment into the BSN program. The school would also offer graduate degrees and a Ph.D. program.
The plans for the school will go before the Rutgers Board of Governors, the New Jersey Presidents Council, and the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education in the fall. For regional hospitals and health-care providers, the announcement can’t come soon enough.
For J. Mark Baiada, president and founder of Bayada Nurses – a home care company headquartered in Moorestown – the aging population and the rise in modern health-care technology has put pressure on the industry to provide more nurses.
“This will help meet a growing need for nurses, particularly in the southern area of the state,” said Baiada, in a statement.
Employment of nursing, psychiatric and home care aides is projected to grow 28 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In a  2002 study released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services federal report, authorities projected a national shortage of about 800,000 registered nurses by 2020 – and that New Jersey would have less than half of the nurses it required.
Any initiative is being greeted with optimism from local health-care officials.
“This proposed new school should help to address the critical shortage in the field of nursing that is being projected,” said John Sheridan, president and CEO at Cooper, in a statement.
While jobs are scare in all industries, the reality of the nursing shortage hit suddenly with the government attempting to overhaul health care.
“This is great news for New Jersey, but especially South Jersey and our overall quality of health care,” said Assemblyman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden) in a statement. “The nursing shortage shows no sign of ebbing and has serious implications for our aging population, but programs like this will help ensure high-quality nursing will be available throughout New Jersey’s health-care facilities.”

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