Nurses licensed in 42 other states and jurisdictions will be eligible to practice in Massachusetts — both in person and via telehealth platforms — as part of the "Nurse Licensure Compact," an agreement aimed at easing nurse staffing shortages. Massachusetts' joining the compact has been in the works for years: a proposal was first filed in the state Legislature over a decade ago. The change to nurse licensure requirements, codified in the economic development bill Governor Maura Healey signed into law last month, could boost health care providers' abilities to hire new nurses at a time when there are many vacancies and high turnover, which especially plague nursing homes, home health care services, and adult day facilities. Advocates hope joining the compact will eliminate administrative burdens for nurses maintaining licenses in multiple states and bolster the nurse workforce in Massachusetts. However, the state's nurses union fears this change will allow hospitals to apply a short-term fix to staffing challenges and ignore the root causes of high nurse turnover, such as difficult working conditions and inadequate pay.
