Rep. Zach Nunn promotes legislation aimed at easing the nurse shortage

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (left) introduced legislation Aug. 25, 2025 at Clive Behavioral Health to address the nursing shortage. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch
August 26, 2025

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn was at Clive Behavioral Health Monday to introduce legislation he said could help more students earn nursing degrees and allow veteran nurses to become mentors for the next generation — all with the intent of making a dent in the national nursing shortage.

The Train More Nurses Act, introduced during the 2023-2024 legislative session, would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor to review all grants offered by either division relating to the nurse workforce.

The departments would then develop a report recommending changes to these grant programs to aim them toward any of three goals listed in the legislation — to increase nursing faculty, especially in underserved areas; create routes for nurses with at least 10 years of experience to teach in nursing programs and strengthening the pipeline for licensed practical nurses to become registered nurses.

“For folks, whether it’s mental health or whether it’s critical frontline health, having a nurse on the floor is one of the best ways to not only drive down health care risk for the patient, but also ensure that we have successful communities marching forward,” Nunn said.

Sasha Khosravi, chief medical officer of Clive Behavioral Health, described nurses as “the true heartbeat of any hospital,” as they spend nearly all of their time with patients, communicating and taking care of them. “I rely a lot on the nursing staff here,” Khosravi said. “They truly do a lot of work that’s tremendously important for the healing of our patients here.”

Clive Behavioral Health is a 100-bed facility that offers treatment to children and adults struggling with behavioral health disorders. In the five years since its opening, CEO Kevin Pettit said the clinic has grown familiar with the strain that having a limited nursing staff can cause among employees and the facility itself.

Nunn first announced the legislation in October 2023 and said Monday it has passed through one chamber of Congress — and the fact that the nursing shortage is an issue both sides of the aisle can get behind will hopefully help it see passage in the future.

Nunn said the President Donald Trump has indicated to him that he is “very in favor” of focusing on workforce development this year.

According to data from the American Nurses Association cited by Nunn, there is a 100,000-nurse shortfall in the across the country, and in Iowa around 70% of health care facilities report problems in filling open nursing positions. Most of the frontline nurses working in Iowa are over the age of 50, he added.

The challenges faced by the health care industry with the nursing shortage come from multiple directions, Nunn said, and can be at least partially addressed by expanding access to education.

There is a “chokepoint” present in nursing education, Nunn said, where students interested in pursuing a career in the field can’t get into a program because there aren’t enough faculty to teach them. By pointing grant dollars toward helping nurses advance their careers while assisting others getting into the profession, Nunn said more early-career nurses will be able to fill the gaps in the workforce.

Kendra Richards, who works as a nurse in the behavioral health center’s intake department, said education is key to solving problems in the nursing workforce. Many nurses are “leaving the bedside” of patients due to staffing shortages, she said.

“It puts a lot of hardships on the nurses that are there and willing to provide excellent care, and so I think this act will hopefully encourage other nurses that are going through school and that kind of thing to really get excited about nursing again,” Richards said.

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