Whether it’s in West Virginia or Kentucky, nurses are leaving the state or leaving the job altogether. The West Virginia Center for Nursing found 1,789 nurses did not renew their licenses in 2019 and 2020. They surveyed nurses that left the Mountain State and those who left the profession. The most common reason nurses left West Virginia was money and the most common reason they left the field was retirement. The Center for Nursing told Eyewitness News that given that 38% of nurses working in the state are over the age of 51, the trend of nurses retiring will continue in the years to come. There is a statewide initiative to reinstate retired registered nurses to assist with the COVID staffing crisis.