By DWD CEO Barb Clapp
The United States is struggling to ensure patients receive the care they need. The math is simple, and scary: more patients plus fewer caregivers equals a major crisis. The baby boomer generation is aging, and so is everyone else.
Over 1 million nurses are expected to exit over the next decade, driven by a combination of burnout, retirement, and natural attrition. People are living longer (and not necessarily healthier),while stark statistics about the rapid decline in birth rates continue to dominate headlines.
Meanwhile, the pipeline for workers can’t meet demand at a time when the healthcare sector is carrying much of the American economy. In 2025, healthcare and social assistance led all sectors in job creation, adding nearly 700,000 jobs nationwide.
In an era where artificial intelligence and automation are expected to reshape the job market, hands-on healthcare roles remain essential. AI isn’t going to take your blood, give you a vaccination, or notice that your aging mother left her favorite green Jell-O on her tray for the past three days.
Nurses will always be needed. But they are getting harder to find.
Read the full op-ed in the Chicago Tribune.