“The perfect storm”: With 1 in 4 nurse positions vacant, Maryland hospitals face crisis

An annual workforce report by the Maryland Hospital Association reveals a state-wide shortage of 5,000 full-time registered nurses and 4,000 licensed practical nurses. “Which obviously makes running the hospital very challenging,” said Ed Lovern, CEO of Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital. “We expect this trend to get worse in the next dozen years or so…if we don’t do anything differently… to get twice as bad as it is now.”