Letter to Congress: ANA "Safe Staffing Saves Lives" campaign

This sounds like a great idea in theory, how many of you have read the letter in its entirety? (bolds are my emphasis):

--------snip----------

I am writing to urge you to cosponsor the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act (S. 73/H.R. 4138), legislation that would hold hospitals accountable for the development and implementation of unit-by-unit nurse staffing plans, in coordination with direct care nurses and based on each unit's unique needs.

The RN safe staffing requires the establishment of a staffing system that ensures a number of RNs on each shift and in each unit of the hospital to ensure appropriate staffing levels for patient care. The also bill provides public reporting of staffing information. Hospitals must post daily for each shift the number of licensed and unlicensed staff providing direct patient care, specifically noting the number of RNs.

Safe staffing is among nurses' top concerns and is key both to patient safety and retention of nurses at bedside as we face a growing nursing shortage. The link between patient safety and nursing care is well-established. According to a 2002 study by Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, each additional patient added to the average workload of staff registered nurses (RNs) increased the risk of death following common medical procedures by 7%, and the risk of death was more than 30% higher in hospitals where nurses' mean workloads were 8 patients or more each shift than in hospitals where nurses cared for 4 or fewer patients. Furthermore, research has shown that when there are more registered nurses (RNs), there are lower mortality rates, shorter lengths of stay, reduced costs and fewer complications.

When it comes to addressing the nursing shortage it's important that we address both recruitment and retention. The latest RN National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses by the Health Resources and Services Administration showed that on average in the US 16.8% of Registered Nurses are not practicing in nursing. Higher patient care assignments put nurses in the stressful situation where it becomes difficult to provide the level of care needed to assure the best possible outcomes for their patients. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that staffing conditions are among the chief reasons nurses leave the bedside. In order to truly address the shortage we must create environments that retain nurses.

S. 73/H.R 4138 recognizes that the complexity and variability of today's hospitals requires the determination of staffing patterns at the hospital and unit level, with the vital input of the RNs caring for patients at those institutions.

I urge you to cosponsor this important bill. I look forward to your reply.

----------end of letter----------

IMO, this proposal is weakly worded with reference to a study that has little bite (the risk of death was more than 30% higher in hospitals where nurses' mean workloads were 8 patients or more each shift than in hospitals where nurses cared for 4 or fewer patients - lots of gray area there to exploit by hospitals.) So, we are empowering hospitals who, by the way, have already exploited us, to implement adequate staffing patterns?? We are expecting the public to understand the difference in care on a unit that may have 3 nurses, and 3 aides for 24 patients compared to, say, 5 nurses and 1 aide? Are we stupid? Who is the ANA really backing, nurses or hospital franchises?

I leave you with a thought. My manager dreamed up the idea in the last six months that our nurse-driven acuity system was broken. My manager's "fix" to that was we are to systematically lower each patient's acuity, thereby allowing even more patients onto our unit.

Why would I trust a hospital to implement an adequate staffing pattern?

Understood. But this doesn't even qualify as a "compromise." It is merely a shell game where you lose sight of the real issue via and smoke and mirrors.

The ANA, with their purported massive resources, is proprosing schlock like this when CA has state ratio LAWS?? This is pathetic and unacceptable *and* and they have the unmitigated gall to pretend this is some sort of progress???? The reason we are in this situation is due to hospital mandated 'ratios' in the first place. I respectfully disagree.