CDH nurses back minimum staffing bill

[zippyLPN]

boston - nurses at cooley dickinson hospital in northampton are supporting a bill that would have the legislature set minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in massachusetts hospitals.

many nurses across the state say that because there is no ratio, they are overworked and their jobs have become increasingly difficult, affecting the standards of care they provide.

''frequently we are working with very unsafe conditions. sometimes you feel like the lucy and ethel chocolate factory skit!,'' said mary powers, an obstetrics nurse at cooley dickinson.

the massachusetts nurses association and the massachusetts hospital association are proposing competing patient ratio bills, with the key difference between the two that the nurses association bill would have the ratio binding, while under the terms of the hospital association bill, the ratio would be a guideline, which is the case currently.

the issues outlined

the nurses association released a poll at the statehouse on tuesday showing that over three-quarters of state residents surveyed support minimum nurse-to-patient ratios.

powers said she saw the same sentiment recently when she reviewed surveys filled out by former patients at cooley dickinson. the number one complaint was over-worked nurses and not enough nurses per patient, powers said.

mary beth fairbrother, vice president for patient care services at cooley dickinson and the hospital's chief nurse, said she has added about 60 nurse and nurse support positions in recent years, bringing the number of positions to between 280 and 300. she said hospital officials are continually updating their analysis to determine how many nurses are needed.

''overworking does happen, that's the reality of the job. they are not overworked all the time,'' fairbrother said.

powers, who has been on staff at cooley dickinson for 40 years, said the added support staff has not helped with bedside nursing. ''they've had control of the numbers and this is the mess they've made of it. it's time for the legislators to take this into their hands,'' powers said.

while the journal of the american medical association recommends a nurse-patient ratio of one-to-four, the nurses association said many nurses deal with up to eight patients a shift.

the association's telephone poll, by the cambridge-based opinion dynamics corporation, was conducted feb. 16-20, of 400 state residents. questions focused on quality of care and staffing minimums.

the association's bill, called the safe rn staffing bill, would set minimum patient-to-nurse ratios according to the specific needs of individual hospitals. hospitals that don't meet the ratios would be subject to fines. originally proposed in 2001, the bill has never made it out of committee.

a competing bill, the patient safety act, is being proposed by the massachusetts hospital association, which conducted a telephone poll of its own in november and found that of 401 registered voters, 56 percent were in favor of hospitals drawing up their own nurse-to-patient ratios and reporting them to an independent board. those ratios would be guidelines, and not subject to fines.

the hospital association bill, sponsored by sen. richard moore, d-uxbridge, the chairman of the joint committee on health care financing, would let hospitals set their own staffing levels, rather than impose a government mandate.

''legislated ratios will tie their hands and won't make the care better,'' said paul wingle, director of communications for the hospital association.

state rep. ellen story, d-amherst, is one of the 106 legislators sponsoring the safe rn staffing bill proposed by the nurses association. she said she believes it essential to impose nurse-patient ratios.

story said she believes that the bill sponsored by the nurse's association has failed to pass because of money and control issues.

story said she is not sure what the timeline would be for consideration of the ratio bills. she said the legislature is backlogged with bills due to committee restructuring.

she said she would be thrilled if they could get a hearing late this spring or next fall, but that she hopes they will come to the floor for debate and vote at least before end of the two-year session~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:balloons: its about time !