Are you a retired nurse? DCH wants your expertise

For years, experts in the health care field have sounded the alarm on the high demand for nurses nationwide. Based on projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country will need additional 203,200 registered nurses each year from now through 2031.

DCH Health System has a unique way to get qualified nurses back in its hospitals. Its Emeritus Nursing program is looking to hire retired nurses who are interested in getting back to the workforce.

DCH Chief of Nursing Dawn Alexander said the beauty of this program is that these nurses have complete control of their hours and schedule.

“The Emeritus program is basically DCH’s retired nurse program,” Alexander said. “It’s an opportunity for us to bring back nurses who have previously retired from DCH or just from nursing in general, who want to come back and help out with our bedside nurses.”

Alexander said the program started as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because so many nurses retired unexpectedly.

“You just need an active RN license, and we will work with the training piece of it cause they won’t have any direct patient care experience. It’s really just helping us out with some very basic tasks,” said Alexander.

The Nurse Emeritus event is on Monday, April 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.

The event is held at the DCH Foundation building located on 1110 Dr. Edward Hillard Drive, just west of the DCH Regional Medical Center.