Illinois: "Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity" bill passes

First a monor correction. California achieved staffing by acuity regulations in 1996 not 1986.
Hospitals just purchased proprietary "systems" and staffed as they pleased.

Too bad Mary Flowers gave up on her RN to patient ratio bill.
It includs staffing by acuity of which the ratio is the maximum number of patients that may be assigned to a nurse at any time.

I think other states should work for enforcable safe staffing legislation. In other words avoid our long struggle.

Summary: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/Bill...ionID=50&GA=95

Ohio has a similar bill pending in the General Assembly--we are hoping for passage by the end of the session.

Won't Illinois hospital administrators just underestimate patient acuity so that they can justify the same staffing?

The Illinois legislation stinks...will maintain the status quo and NOTHING WILL CHANGE! RN's in other states WATCH the legislation in your states so you can TAKE A STAND BEFORE IT PASSES.

Hopefully Enough Rn's Will Contact Their Legislators And Take A Stand. The ohio Bill Is Absolutely Useless...the Ohio Hospital Association, Among Other Interested Parties, Were The Impetus For This Ridiculous Rubbish!!! Anyone Who Has A Good Critical Mind Can Read This Proposed Bill And See It Benefits Hospitals And Their Administrations...not Patients Or Bedside Rn's!! ohio Rn's Please Contact Columbus...let Them Know You Do Not Want The Nurse Staffing Bill Passed, As It Currently Is Written, To Pass Through The House...our Patients Deserve Much Better Language In A More Meaningful Bill!!!

A few questions:

The referenced standards are not measureable. How will the bill be enforced? What will be the consequences of not meeting the provisions?

i am an illinois nurse and i don't mean to sound negative, but i think it will take a loooooong time before nurses see this bill actually honored. the reason why i feel this way is becasue people are so so sick now. can you imagine getting a patient that probably should be one to one, but because you have low staffing a nurse will be stuck with a high acuity assignment and then some. if you complain to administration you know what happens-----nothing. its a great start but like someone else said there are ways to get around it.

The Illinois Staffing by Acuity bill is intended to have nurses who work on the floors in the hospitals on a committee to help determine staffing needs. It is not by administration alone, but by staff nurses, supervisors, and administration that staffing is to be determined. At the hospital I work at, we have been filling out acuity forms on our oncology patients, as there is no information about how these units should be staffed. It really makes you think about how staff compromised you are when you have high acuity patients.

Now let's THINK about the various Nurse Staffing bills ie. Illinois and Ohio HB346. Why in the world do hospitals, Hospital Associations, and various ANA affiliates WANT or NEED legislation (ie. LAW) to mandate hospitals to have a COMMITTEE? As long as I have been a nurse (over 20 years!) and in EVERY CLEVELAND hospital I have worked in, hospitals have never needed a law to mandate them to convene a committee! They already have the power to institute any darn committee they want and as any hospital employee will attest to, there are DOZENS of committees in every hospital!!!!! HELLOOOOOOO!! Could it be that Illinois and Ohio are afraid that the ratio bill in California may come to their states and they want to get THEIR RIDICULOUS LAW ON THE BOOKS BEFORE THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL LEGISLATION WITH SOME TEETH IN IT????????? Duh.