Nurses from Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) and New Mexico State University spoke in support of Senate Bill 50 in late January, according to KRQE.

Lawmakers are trying to listen to the problems faced by nurses and to come up with better solutions to tackle the nursing shortage.

“We are woefully lacking in being able to immediately spin up and be able to graduate hundreds of more students. Yes, it does take resources, lots of resources,” Terri Tewart, dean of the School of Science, Health, Engineering, and Math at SFCC, said.

Nurses showed their support for Senate Bill 50, which would allocate $15 million to expand nursing programs at colleges throughout New Mexico.

The nurses said many qualified candidates aren’t accepted into nursing programs due to a lack of faculty.

New Mexico has a shortage of 6,000 nurses throughout the state; many nurses are leaving to work as traveling nurses, who make up to $200 an hour. “We want our local graduates in our programs but, really, this is about caring for one another in our communities,” Tewart said.