RCRC is pleased to support Assembly Bill 2104 by Assembly Member Esmeralda Soria (D-Fresno). This measure would direct the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a pilot program to allow up to 10 community college districts to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
The shortage of health professionals in California, particularly in rural areas of the state, has been a persistent concern for many years and has become more acute in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the aging of the health care workforce. Rural areas with smaller populations that are farther from urban centers often have the lowest supply of health professionals per capita. Further, rural California does not have a high concentration of the four-year universities needed for graduate degree health professionals; however, often these communities have access to community college programs. However, problems are not isolated to rural areas. The Inland Empire and the Central Valley are two of the fastest growing regions in California, and they are the two areas that have the lowest per capita health workforce. It’s also a challenge to recruit and retain people in the Central Valley and Inland Empire that reflect the diversity and language capabilities of these regions.
California’s current healthcare workforce development apparatus is not equipped to handle the growing nursing needs of the state, especially in disadvantaged communities and in rural parts of the state. While California’s Community College system does offer associate degrees in nursing, the needs of the healthcare workforce more frequently demand a bachelor’s degree. This level of degree is exclusive in California to private institutions that are prohibitively expensive or to the University of California and the California State University systems, which have limited capacity and difficulty serving areas of the state with the highest need.
In order to meet our nursing workforce needs and extend these career opportunities to Californians throughout the state, we must expand the role of our community college system. AB 2104 will take the first step in this process by allowing a limited number of community college districts to expand their nursing programs to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. This will expand the access and affordability of these degrees and will demonstrate how these offerings might be further expanded to additional community college districts.
RCRC’s letter of support is available here. AB 2104 passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 15 and will be heading to the Assembly floor later this month. For more information, contact RCRC Policy Advocate Sarah Dukett.