Open enrollment is the period when eligible employees can enroll in INNOVATIONS’ 401(k) plan.

If you are already a current participant in the 401 (k) plan, now is the time you can increase or decrease your contribution percentages - all new enrollments and contribution changes will be effective January 5, 2003.

In addition, you can rollover current monies from a previous employer’s qualified retirement plan or current IRA rollover plan.

According to investment advisors, savings should equal 7 years of current income if you want to retire comfortably. It’s never too early to begin saving! A 401(k) allows you to save tax-deferred income.

The Health Resources and Service Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (“National Center”) is the primary Federal agency responsible for providing information and analysis relating to the supply and demand for health professionals. In support of this role, the National Center has recently assumed responsibility from the Bureau’s Division of Nursing for conducting the quadrennial National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses and developing supply and demand projections for registered nurses.

In 2000, this survey found that the National supply of FTE registered nurses was estimated at 1.89 million while the demand was estimated at 2 million, a shortage of 110,000 or 6%. Based on what is known about trends in the supply of RNs and their anticipated demand, the shortage is expected to grow relatively slowly until 2010, by which time it will have reached 12%. At that point, demand will begin to exceed supply at an accelerated rate and by 1015 the shortage, a relatively modest 6% in the year 2000, will have almost quadrupled to 20%. If not addressed, and if current trends continue, the shortage is projected to grow to 29% by 2020.

The projected shortage in 2020 results from a projected 40 percent increase in demand between 2000 and 2020 compared to a projected 6 percent growth in supply. Demand will grow steadily at a rate of 1.7 percent annually, a relatively modest growth rate when compared to the 2.3 percent annual growth in demand projected by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Factors driving the growth in demand include an 18 percent increase in population, a larger proportion of elderly persons, and medical advances that heighten the need for nurses. In contrast, the projected growth in supply is expected to reach a peak of only 10 percent by 2011 and then begin to decline as the number of nurses leaving the profession exceeds the number that enter.

An examination of the factors affecting the supply of RNs sheds light on what has caused the current shortage. These factors include the declining number of nursing school graduate, the aging of the RN workforce, declines in relative earnings, and the emergence of alternative job opportunities.

According to tradition, the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by the English Pilgrims who had founded the Plymouth Colony, now in the state of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims marked the occasion by feasting with their Native American guests—members of the Wampanoag tribe—who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. Although this event was an important part of American colonial history, there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feast as a Thanksgiving celebration. Two years later, during a period of drought, a day of fasting and prayer was changed to one of thanksgiving because rains came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed among New Englanders to annually celebrate Thanksgiving after the harvest.

Governor signs bills establishing nursing scholarships.

10/17/02 LANSING - Nursing students could each get up to $16,000 in scholarships from the state under two bills signed this week by Gov. John Engler.

"This scholarship program addresses the critical nursing shortage in our state, attracting more students who will eventually become nurses in Michigan," Engler said Thursday.

Under the legislation, students could get up to $4,000 a year for four academic years to help pay for tuition and fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation and day care. In exchange, nurses would have to serve at a Michigan facility for at least one year for each year of the scholarship, or repay the scholarship money. A state spending bill already signed by Engler included $4 million for the scholarships from the Michigan Merit Award Trust Fund, which is funded by tobacco settlement money. State Sen. John Schwarz, R-Battle Creek, sponsored one of the bills.

If you would like to refigure your tax withholding, you can do so by visiting the IRS withholding calculator located at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/ind_info/wh, or by completing a W-4 worksheet, which can be downloaded from the IRS website or INNOVATIONS’ website. If you do not have Internet access, contact Tracey Kerr in our Payroll Department at (810) 494-0664

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