Lobbying for Change
Student name
Capella University
NHS FPX 6008
Professor Name
Submission Date
Lobbying for Change
The Honorable Andy Beshear
Governor of Kentucky
700 Capitol Avenue
Frankfort, KY 40601
United States
Dear Governor Beshear,
My name is _________. I am a medical personnel operating in the Appalachia region. Our communities are faced with a dire shortage of medical staff. This is a harmful problem to the patients, and it overburdens the providers. It also paralyzes the hospital budgets in the region. The Appalachian Regional Commission states that the number of healthcare providers in this region is considered to be 20 percent lower than the national average (Cassim et al., 2024). The rates of burnout, turnover among the staff are rising. Medical institutions do not spend a lot of money on the hiring process, but on the improvement of care. The poor and the older citizens are the most affected. They will either prolong or omit the required treatment. This lack is not only financial but also an ethical issue that is not healthy for the community.
The concept of addressing the staffing crisis will lead to major consequences for rural healthcare, namely in the Appalachian one. Nurse retention programs can use flexible schedules and career development programs as a means of preventing turnover and burnout (Brook et al., 2021). Enhanced telehealth improves access to patients and saves costs. Recruitment of new employees is sponsored with monetary incentives like mortgage forgiveness and housing. All these changes will make a stable labor force and save expenses up to 30 percent per year. Conversely, turnover is going to remain expensive, patient safety would decline, and health disparities would grow (Aiken et al., 2023). The clinics may even be closed down by other clinics, which hurts care accessibility and local economies.
Research shows that a short workforce, in turn, leads to burnout, high turnover, and low-quality care among rural laborers in the healthcare sector (Terry and Woo, 2020). Constant understaffing negatively affects the safety and satisfaction of patients since medical professionals are unable to meet the needs of patients (Gupta et al., 2025). Nurse recruitment is also expensive, and it may go up to 30 percent of the annual salary of a nurse, which could be a massive burden to small hospitals (Vries et al., 2023). However, certain sources show that there may be a difference made by expenditure on retention and financial incentive (Stuart et al., 2021). The reduction of the turnover rate of nurses by 20 to 30 percent each year can deliver a 20 percent savings in all healthcare systems and improve their stability and care outcomes. Those programs that assist with the adoption of loan forgiveness and housing have been observed to increase the retention rate of the rural workforce by two times (Russell et al., 2021). All these studies suggest that expanding telehealth services, compensating reasonably, and addressing the welfare of staff is a cost-efficient and long-term approach. They improve the retention of the staff, lead to an improvement in the patient care, and may help to ensure that every resident of the Appalachian area receives equitable access to quality healthcare. These are the strategies that comply with the concept of social justice and equity, as the services in healthcare should be available to everyone, no matter their socioeconomic or geographic position. These changes can help decrease health disparities and provide more fairly care to underserved communities by mitigating burnout, improving staffing, and accessing healthcare services, which will support the ethical and financial aspects of healthcare delivery in underserved communities.
The rural healthcare experience I have had before gives me personal experience on how staffing shortage affects both the staff and the patients. The vast majority of experienced nurses have left the profession after getting tired, and those who remain are given an unsafe workload and overtime. My team had adopted burnout preventive sessions and flexible shifts, which were used to boost morale and nurse retention. Telehealth has also been expanded by us, and that has reduced hospital readmission among chronically ill patients, as well as making better use of scarce staff. These experiences have made me understand that enhancing the effectiveness of our resources and financial incentives in the retention of healthcare workers in rural areas and protecting the healthcare institutions is vital.
I would like to ask your assistance on the bill to contribute to legislation that would assist in funding nurse retention programs, raising access to services via telehealth, or loan forgiveness to healthcare providers in rural Appalachia. These activities will help in workforce balancing, improving patient outcomes, and reducing financial pressure on small healthcare organizations. Further reinforcement of such initiatives will render healthcare more sustainable and equal. Under your leadership, the people of the Appalachian region will be in a position to access quality care, which they deserve.
Sincerely,
Ladena Boaz
References for NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 4
Aiken, L. H., Lasater, K. B., Sloane, D. M., Pogue, C. A., Rosenbaum, K. E. F., Muir, K. J., & McHugh, M. D. (2023). Journal of the American Medical Association Health Forum, 4(7). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1809
Brook, J., Aitken, L. M., MacLaren, J.-A., & Salmon, D. (2021). An intervention to decrease burnout and increase retention of early career nurses: A mixed methods study of acceptability and feasibility. BioMed Central Nursing, 20(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00524-9
Cassim, E., McDonald, H., Harper, M., Chen, Q., Lin, M., Patel, R., Cavnar, M., Prakash Pandalai, Huang, B., Hull, P. C., Kim, J., & Burke, E. (2024). PubMed, 6(1-2), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.13023/jah.0601.02
Unveiling the complexities of patient safety in hospital settings: A holistic approach to overcoming challenges. Geriatric Nursing, 64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2025.04.030
Stuart, M., Spencer, D. A., McLachlan, C. J., & Forde, C. (2021). Human Resource Management Journal, 31(4), 904–917. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12395
Terry, D. L., & Woo, M. J. (2020). Psychology, Health & Medicine, 26(2), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2020.1750663
Related assessments for this class: NHS FPX 6008 Assessment 1 , and NURS FPX 6008 Assessment 2
