A special commission created this year by the Rhode Island Senate has begun a comprehensive study of a projected nursing shortage, attempting to determine what actions are needed to ensure that the state’s nursing-education programs have the capacity to enroll and graduate a sufficient number of nurses to meet increasing demands.

Hospitals, long-term care facilities, home-health providers and physician’s offices in Rhode Island are continuing to report difficulties in recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified nurses, the commission said. Studies indicate that Rhode Island could face a shortage of up to 1,400 registered nurses in 2010 and almost 6,500 by 2020.

The resolution that created the commission outlined several factors that are believed to be driving the current and projected shortages. Those are: insufficient enrollment capacity at institutions offering nursing education programs; faculty shortages at those institutions; financial disincentives for nursing professionals to become educators; and increasing demands for personnel within the health-care industry.

At a recent organizational meeting of the commission, Sen. James E. Doyle II, D- Pawtucket, whose resolution created the panel, was elected chairman.

“It is critical to increase the number of qualified persons graduating from Rhode Island’s nursing-education programs, and convince those already working as nurses to remain in their jobs, in order to avert a critical shortage of nurses in the future,” said Doyle. “We need to provide nurses with the skills and training necessary to meet the increasingly complex level of care required by patients.”

Other members of the 15-person commission are: Sen. David E. Bates, R-Barrington; Sen. Daniel P. Connors, D-Cumberland; Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr., D-Smithfield; Donna Policastro, RN and executive director of the R.I. State Nurses Association; David Jasinski, executive director of Harbourside Pawtuxet Village; Linda McDonald, president of United Nurses & Allied Professionals; Pamela McCue, RN, MS, director of Nurse Registration & Nursing Education of the R.I. Advanced Practice Nurse Advisory Committee; Ruth Ricciarelli, executive director, Hospital Association of R.I.; Margaret Clifton, Community College of Rhode Island Department of Nursing; Dr. Lynne Dunphy, PhD, APRN, BC, professor of nursing and Routhier Chair of Practice at the URI College of Nursing; Dr. Jane Williams, dean of the school of nursing, Rhode Island College; Carol Ross, St. Joseph School of Nursing; Jack R. Warner, commissioner of the Office of Higher Education; and Dr. Peggy Matteson, RN, professor, Salve Regina University department of nursing.

The study commission is expected to report its findings and recommendation to the Senate by the end of next January.

New NLRB complaint against Foxwoods

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint alleging that Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut broke federal law by retaliating against a new union and refusing to bargain in good faith. The United Auto Workers won a union election last November to represent nearly 3,000 dealers and the NLRB certified the UAW in June, rejecting an appeal by Foxwoods. The board, in a complaint dated Thursday, said the casino refused to promote dealers, changed its medical leave procedures and eliminated coat hooks and chairs from employee cafeteria restrooms because its employees formed the union. The findings now go before an administrative law judge in Hartford for a hearing Nov. 17. The NLRB is seeking an order for back pay and other relief for the employees. Foxwoods had no immediate comment Friday. The UAW says it’s the third complaint the NLRB has issued against Foxwoods since the dealers organized. The casino has challenged the jurisdiction of the federal agency, saying Foxwoods is run by the sovereign Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.

Thailand suspends GTECH online contract

Thailand’s finance ministry yesterday indefinitely suspended a state-run online lottery pending clarification of a supplier contract with a venture between Loxley, a local computer service provider, and Providence-based GTECH Holdings Corp. “We will ask the Council of State to look at the contract again to see if it is still valid as it was signed a long time ago,” deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pataraprasit said in Bangkok. The government in May said Loxley GTECH Technology Co., the joint venture between Loxley and GTECH, a unit of Italy’s Lottomatica SpA, would start selling the new online lottery from Sept. 17. Loxley GTECH won a 2004 bid to supply equipment and services for the lottery, the start-up of which was delayed by changes in government.

Herring ban in Gulf of Maine this month

New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Marine Fisheries Division says that commercial harvesters will be prohibited from landing Atlantic herring in the western half of the Gulf of Maine through certain periods this month, to keep the area from being closed early. Harvesting will be banned from 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 3 through midnight Sept. 14 and 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 17 through midnight on Sept. 28. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts will meet Sept. 24 to determine if more days out of the fishery will be needed to extend the available quota for herring into October and November.

Sprinkler company going into R.I.

Sprink Tech Co. Inc., a provider of fire sprinkler systems for educational, commercial, residential and retail clients throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire has recently expanded into Rhode Island. The company has recently been contracted to design and install a fire sprinkler system for Cranston East High School in Cranston. “We have 15 installers licensed for Rhode Island and have the capability to serve a greater number of clients throughout the state,” said Scott Dwyer, president of Sprink, which is headquartered at 31 Maple St., Bellingham, Mass.

Bryant University wins 2 national awards

Bryant University has won two national awards for its Collaborative Public Safety Network: the Campus Technology Innovators Award and the Institutional Excellence Award from the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education. The network enables first responders throughout Rhode Island and nearby states to communicate with one another regardless of the communication equipment they use. Noting that all campuses are focusing on safety and security today, Campus Technology, a monthly magazine, praised Bryant for taking “current safety and security measures to another level,” particularly in its efforts to make sure school and government emergency responders can communicate easily and effectively.

Maine, Merrill Lynch reach agreement

Maine has reached agreement with Merrill Lynch to recover $20 million the state paid to purchase Mainsail II commercial paper last summer, state Treasurer David Lemoine says, restoring the state’s long-standing relationship with the company that was threatened when the assets were frozen. Lemoine, who has said that a financial adviser from Merrill Lynch advised the treasury that the investment met the state’s criteria, noted Thursday that Merrill Lynch maintains it did nothing wrong “but agreed to repurchase the paper to resolve this disagreement.” Merrill Lynch said in a statement that “after extensive discussions with the treasurer, we have decided to resolve this matter with the state of Maine and resume our long-standing business relationship.” Mainsail II, which attracted Maine and others such as Connecticut, Florida, Montana and King County in Washington, was an investment vehicle operated by British hedge fund Solent Capital Partners.

Life-science companies expanding in Mass.

Three life-sciences companies are expanding in Massachusetts. Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics will unveil a $109-million development in Walpole that adds 115,000 square feet to its manufacturing plant. The company said it plans to add 70 jobs over 10 years. Advance Medical is establishing a new U.S. headquarters in Boston, drawn by the city’s famous hospitals and research facilities, said Michael Hough, company executive vice president. And Covidien, a health-care products company spun out of Tyco International a year ago, is considering buying a 115,000-square-foot building in Mansfield for research and development and administrative space. Company spokesman Bruce Farmer said the building could provide room for an additional 50 employees. The company is also seeking state and local tax incentives that could potentially be worth more than $1 million to help recoup some of its planned investment.

University of N.H. receives federal grant

The University of New Hampshire is getting a $355,000 federal grant to improve offshore fish farming. Sen. Judd Gregg says the grant will allow UNH to research ways to reduce damage to offshore aquaculture cages by marine organisms and develop new depth control methods to improve fish growth. Richard Langan, director of the Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center at UNH says aquaculture technology has improved, but researchers still need to develop better efficiency to produce native species such as cod, haddock and halibut.