Louisiana Schools Expand Programs to Fix Nursing Shortage
Universities are launching accelerated tracks and building new facilities to help combat a projected nursing shortfall.
Updated on Oct. 25, 2026 in Nursing Jobs
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Louisiana is expanding nursing education capacity through new facilities and accelerated degree programs to address a state projected to face a shortage of 5,680 full-time registered nurses by 2038. This effort seeks to accommodate thousands of qualified applicants currently turned away due to limited resources.
Why it matters
The nursing shortage is driven by the aging baby-boom generation and rising healthcare demand. Schools are struggling to train enough graduates because they lack sufficient faculty, classroom space, and clinical site access.
Southern University plans to open a 69,000-square-foot training building to handle an annual influx of hundreds of applicants. Delgado Community College has also received $1.4 million in funding to launch evening and weekend nursing tracks.
The players
Tulane University
This private research university in New Orleans offers an accelerated nursing program designed to streamline the transition into the workforce.
Southern University
A public historically black university in Baton Rouge that is expanding its training capacity through a new large-scale facility.
Delgado Community College
This New Orleans institution serves thousands of nursing and pre-nursing students with newly funded weekend and evening programs.
The details
Tulane University is utilizing an accelerated 16-month program completed across four semesters to accelerate training. Meanwhile, Delgado Community College serves 1,000 nursing students alongside 3,000 pre-nursing students while Southern University continues to turn away half of its 600 annual applicants.
Timeline
In 2025, U.S. nursing schools denied 92,000 total applications.
By 2028, the Health Resources and Services Administration projects a national nursing gap of 267,000.
Louisiana faces a projected 11% nursing shortage by 2038.
Market Landscape
These state-level expansions follow the pattern set by the Health Resources and Services Administration nursing supply projections. By aggressively increasing training capacity, Louisiana institutions are attempting to close the supply-demand gap before the 2038 shortage projection manifests.
Prospective students in Louisiana will gain greater access to nursing education as new evening and weekend programs remove traditional scheduling barriers. This expansion aims to reduce waitlists and increase the local supply of healthcare professionals available for area hospitals.
The takeaway
Aspiring nurses should explore accelerated tracks and alternative schedules to bypass traditional waitlists. These programs allow motivated individuals to enter the high-demand healthcare field more quickly than standard four-year pathways.
Further reading
Learn more about local opportunities in Nursing Jobs.
Source note: This article includes information reported by NOLA.
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