Three nursing not-for-profits have merged into a single statewide entity called the Indiana Center for Nursing, the groups reported Thursday.

The Indianapolis-based organization was formed by Nursing 2000, Nursing 2000 North and the Indiana Nursing Workforce Development Coalition, all of which focused on generating an adequate supply of well-trained nurses.

The group's executive director is Kim Harper, a nurse who was interim director of Nursing 2000 and who previously served as vice president of public affairs and human resources at Wishard Health Services.

According to a prepared statement, the groups hope their merger helps them gain “financial viability by broadening base funding.”

There has been a nationwide shortage of nurses for years, which is predicted to get worse as baby boomer nurses retire at the same time their peers need more health care then ever. Nursing schools have struggled to attract enough nurses with advanced degrees to train all the qualified applicants who want to become nurses, hampering efforts to head off the shortage.

Look for in-depth coverage of the nursing shortage in this weekend's IBJ.