In retirement, Susan Frye looked forward to cruising the high seas, spending more time in her garden and resting her weary body from two demanding decades of work as a registered nurse.

The physical and emotional demands of the job lead most registered nurses to retire in their 50s. Frye, at 63, could have retired years ago. But her body remained strong. So did her love for working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital.

Then the economy soured, and her spirit was suddenly as deflated as her nest egg.

"By October and November of last year, the economy was just getting too scary," she said. "Now, my retirement plans are in a state of flux."

The recession has presented a peculiar silver lining for the health care industry by slowing retirement plans for a generation of nurses. Their departure from the profession could further deepen the industry's chronic nursing shortage.

For years, hospitals across the country have braced for an exodus.

The average age of a working nurse in California is 47, with 45 percent over the age of 50, according to the California Institute for Nursing and Health Care.

More than one in 10 registered nurses working for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region is over 60 years old, suggesting an imminent surge in retirements.

"People aren't retiring because of the economy. All of a sudden, when the economy turns around, they're all going to leave," said Anette Smith-Dohring, the work force development manager for the regional health system.

"It's going to be a huge problem," she said. "We're OK for today, but what will happen if that additional production in nurses isn't there?"

The demand for nurses – health care workers, really – remains strong despite the weakened economy, partly because of the expected waves of baby boomers needing health services.

If successful, plans to overhaul the country's health care system could mean millions of additional people seeking health care, particularly if the country's 46 million uninsured – about 6 million in California – have improved access to health care.

What's more, a state law passed by voters in 1999 imposed mandatory staffing levels that, in effect, increased the need for nurses. Ever since, the competition for experienced registered nurses has risen among private hospitals.

Salaries have risen, too. RN salaries in the Sacramento area typically start at $30 an hour, sometimes more. Experienced nurses earn more than $90,000 annually, some with six-figure salaries.

Because hospitals have not been immune to the travails of the economy, vacancies have declined. Some have slowed hiring.

Hospitals within Sutter Health's local region, for example, have few vacancies – 46 open positions, representing a mere 2.3 percent of all registered nurses.

But the relative slowdown is temporary, most acknowledge.

"We don't want to be lulled into a false sense of security. The shortage is still there," although perhaps not as acute in the state's larger cities, said Ann Stoltz, who chairs the nursing division at California State University, Sacramento.

Just three years ago, some nurses received signing bonuses, she said.

The problem isn't lack of interest in a profession that provides a decent wage, said Sandra Kirschenmann, vice chancellor for resource development for the Los Rios Community College District.

Nursing schools can't keep up with the demand – from potential students seeking admission and from hospitals needing to fill vacancies now and into the future.

"What will that tidal wave of retirements produce when it comes? We know it's coming. I think we would have been seeing it now, if not for the recession," Kirschenmann said.

"We have no shortage of students who want in," she added.

Sacramento City College turns away 900 applicants every year and American River College, which also has a nursing program, turns away hundreds more. College counselors often suggest students look into other in-demand health careers, such as physical therapy, dental hygiene and pharmacy technology.

Call The Bee's Bobby Caina Calvan, (916) 321-1067.