I went up to the ICU to check on a patient and I saw Sarah, a seasoned nurse I’ve worked with for years, juggling six critical patients. Her eyes were tired, her steps hurried, but she still managed a reassuring smile for a frightened family.
Between checking IV lines and updating charts, she whispered to me, “I’m drowning, but I can’t let anyone see it.” That moment hit me hard. Sarah’s dedication keeps our hospital running, but the strain of understaffing is breaking her and countless nurses like her across Indiana.
A mother waits hours in an ER for her child’s care. A patient faces delays for surgery. Nurses, the backbone of our health care system, are stretched to the limit. They manage unsafe patient loads, earn modest wages and live with the fear that one missed sign or delayed response could cost a life.
Many are afraid to speak up, silenced by the risk of retaliation. This is a test of Indiana’s political, institutional and moral priorities. Gov. Mike Braun and hospital leaders need to restore trust among our nurses.
Sarah’s experience reflects a statewide crisis. The numbers paint a grim picture. Indiana hospitals face a 15% nurse vacancy rate and must train 1,300 additional nurses annually through 2031 just to keep up. Meanwhile, burnout is accelerating. A 2024 survey found that 15% of Indiana nurses plan to leave the profession, citing pay and workload as top concerns.
During Nurses Week 2025, frontline caregivers shared stories of chronic understaffing, mental fatigue and a health care culture that treats exhaustion as routine. The pandemic did not cause this. It revealed how fragile the system already was.
Braun’s budget priorities ignore the crisis
Leadership has failed to meet the moment. Braun’s 2025 budget allocated nothing to address this issue. Instead, it prioritized tax cuts and tighter Medicaid eligibility. It’s unclear if policymakers even recognize the crisis for what it is. If they do, they are certainly not treating it like one.
Braun’s signing of House Bill 1004, which requires nonprofit hospitals to reduce pricing by 2029 or risk losing tax-exempt status, was a modest step on pricing but does nothing for workforce stability. No mandate for better pay. No investment in training. No plan for retention.
At the same time, the legislature has capped nursing program capacity, bottlenecking the pipeline. Hospital boards continue approving massive executive salaries. IU Health’s CEO earned millions while frontline nurses juggle impossible workloads with stagnant pay. IU Health holds $8.5 billion in assets and is building a $4.3 billion campus, yet its staff face critical shortages. A 2023 study directly linked inadequate nurse staffing to higher mortality rates, longer hospital stays and millions in preventable costs. This amounts to institutional neglect.
How to fix Indiana’s nursing shortage
We in Indiana are already paying the price in patient outcomes and a deteriorating standard of care. Strategic investment is essential to safeguard care and retain talent. Even those who voted for Braun likely expect their hospital to be staffed and safe. Indiana’s leaders must listen to the people who keep the system running and act accordingly.
Here is how Indiana can begin to change things:
These actions are necessary, evidence-based and fiscally responsible. Better staffing means fewer errors and healthier communities. When nurses are supported, patients thrive and the entire system becomes more stable.
We all have a stake in this issue. Hold hospital systems accountable, not just for the buildings they construct, but also for the people who work inside them.
We cannot afford to keep building hospitals while ignoring the people who make health care possible. Braun and hospital leaders must protect the workforce now. Without nurses there is no health care. And without action, there soon won’t be enough left to care.
Dr. Raja Ramaswamy is an Indianapolis-based physician and the author of “You Are the New Prescription.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Nurses are drowning while Braun ignores Indiana’s health care crisis | Opinion
Reporting by Raja Ramaswamy / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
