You are the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Middlefield Hospital. Middlefield Hospital is a 450-bed tertiary care facility in a major urban area in the Northeast. The hospital is an integrated health system that provides the full array of inpatient and outpatient services. The hospital enjoys a reputation for quality care in the area.

As the new CEO, you have learned that the hospital's employee turnover rate exceeds 20%, and there are over 100 nursing vacancies. You have also learned the following facts that may be impacting these workforce shortages.

• A new hospital has recently opened in your market area that has produced competition for Middlefield Hospital.
• Employee morale has deteriorated over the last 12 months.
• Essex University (a local college) is considering eliminating its nursing degree program because there is continual difficulty in recruiting well-qualified instructors. The board of directors has asked that you provide a report detailing your strategies and recommendations to overcome the workforce shortages and to improve employee morale. The strategies and recommendations should be as specific as possible and include the resources needed for implementation.

*Include a follow-up paragraph on how your recommendations would, or would not, change if a new federal law was passed that provided free nursing education to all students who work in an underserved area (which you would qualify) with rationale and justification.

**Please cite any sources**