Why is Georgia facing one of the worst nurse shortages in the country?

Illustration by Brittney Phan

Key Points
  • Georgia has one of the worst nursing shortages in the country and it’s projected to worsen by 2030.
  • The nurse shortage has been more sharply felt because of the COVID-19 pandemic but the problem has been mounting for years.
  • The pandemic has also fueled a historic increase of travel nurses.
  • Experts and nurse advocates say the state can improve incentives for nurses to remain in-state long-term
Georgia has been facing a shortage of nurses for years, but it’s a problem that has recently grabbed headlines because of the COVID-19 pandemic that brought harrowing tales of overworked healthcare workers struggling to keep up with record amounts of death. The state’s low vaccination rate, still below 50% of the eligible population, only adds to the struggles of medical staff bearing the brunt of a summer spike in cases that pushed Georgia’s death toll past 26,000 and is only ...