Migrants Can Help Address Nebraska’s Health Care Shortage

Nebraska is at risk of becoming a health care desert. Thirty counties currently lack hospitals, staff and infrastructure serving the rural population. At the same time, many of the hospitals we do have lack nurses and rely on hiring traveling labor from other states, which is costly. It’s estimated Nebraska needs to hire 5,435 nurses to fill this gap.

This is affecting Nebraskans’ health outcomes, especially in the areas of maternal health, primary care and end-of-life care. But there is an obvious solution: welcoming more skilled migrant health care workers.