A Valuable Tool to Explore Data on CT Licensed Registered Nurses
A world without nurses—even if we weren’t in the midst of a global health crisis, the thought is still frightening.
From schools to correctional facilities, Connecticut’s 76,000 nurses work tirelessly in every setting and with every population to play a crucial role in the health and wellbeing of our residents.
“This statewide Nursing Portal will directly inform all Connecticut academic and practice partners; policymakers and legislators; state government leaders; as well as, state and federal healthcare funders regarding the healthcare roles most in need of expansion in Connecticut.”
By sharing data about nurses and nursing programs, we can make our state a healthier place to live and work. Using data from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Connecticut League for Nursing's (CLN) annual survey, we partnered with the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce, Inc. (CCNW) to present a comprehensive overview of the nursing workforce in Connecticut: the Nursing Data Portal.
For the first time ever in Connecticut, we made these datasets publicly available on one platform. This portal examines the supply of nurses in the current workforce, the education of pre-licensed registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and the state’s demand for RNs and LPNs.
Easy to navigate and equipped with current data, the portal serves as an essential resource to assess the state’s nursing workforce in areas including education, diversity, professional development, and policy. Executive Director of CCNW Marcia Proto said, “This statewide Nursing Portal will directly inform all Connecticut academic and practice partners; policymakers and legislators; state government leaders; as well as, state and federal healthcare funders regarding the healthcare roles most in need of expansion in Connecticut.”
While 76,000 nurses sounds like a large number, Proto explains that the portal shows that, in some communities, the needs of the population exceed the number of nurses working in the area. We will likely see this gap in resources illuminated in the coming months as communities work to address the health care needs from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“This was a true example of a data liberation project.”
To understand this gap in care, an interactive bubble map allows readers to visualize the relationship between the number of nurses working in a town compared to the size of the population over 65 years old. Take the town of Lyme—we can see that 32% of the population is over 65 years old, yet the town’s light shading on the map indicates that only 1-49 nurses work in this town. This ratio underscores the need for more nurses to care for Lyme’s elderly population.
While the project itself bears importance, the partnership forged between CCNW and CTData signifies both organizations’ commitments to make data easily accessible and available and encourage stakeholders to draw meaningful conclusions and strengthen their strategies.
“This was a true example of a data liberation project,” said CTData’s Executive Director Michelle Riordan-Nold, “we took data that was being collected by the Department of Public Health but was not analyzed or made public prior to our involvement. We now have rich information on the education and professional experiences of nurses working in Connecticut which can help inform workforce development and future policies.”
Proto added, “It has been a pleasure to work with Michelle and her team of professionals to create and establish this user-friendly and interactive portal!”
We would like to extend our gratitude to CCNW and CLN for their collaboration and for inviting our Executive Director Michelle Riordan-Nold to present the portal at their Statewide Nursing & Healthcare Workforce SUMMIT.
Whether you’re a healthcare advocate or interested in learning more about Connecticut’s nursing workforce, you can dive into this data portal here. Our data analyst is updating the portal with the most recent CLN survey, so check back for updates!
If your organization needs help telling its data story, head to our Data Support page to learn how we can work together to bring your mission to life or join us for one of our Data Bootcamp: Visualization workshops on our Data Training page. You can also be the first to hear about our latest projects by signing up for our monthly newsletter.
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