Fight for Mandated Nurse - Patient Ratios Heats up - Pennsylvania

Updated:   Published

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.
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There's a palpable air of excitement among nurses in Pennsylvania. For the first time in the state's history, a governor has voiced for nurse-to-patient staffing rules that would set a maximum number of patients an individual nurse can care for at once.

Many states across the country are fighting for legislation that addresses safer staffing ratios. These efforts are being met with staunch resistance from the hospital industry, saying "there simply isn't enough research to support a front-loaded investment in nursing staff" and there aren't enough nurses to hire in the first place. "Staffing mandates would force facilities to close".

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A Pennsylvania nurse commented, "But we're on the ground. We're the ones doing the work day-to-day. We're the experts. Listen to us."

For more on this story that discusses staffing committees, patient acuity, debatable research and studies, hospital outcomes, patient satisfaction, and more, read:

Fight for mandated nurse-to-patents ratios heats up

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This really excellent news! I'm glad our voices are being heard, and there is the possibility of change.

Now the hospital industry is acting like victims. Bedside nurses have been overworked and understaffed and now it's being brought to light.

Good for PA nurses! Thanks for the article.

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Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.

Hallelujah!

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Specializes in Peds ED.

So the ANA and PSNA are opposing this. This is the email I got from Nurses of PA today:

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At the Safe Staffing Summit last week, I was appalled to learn that the ANA and PSNA are teaming up with hospital companies to actively oppose safe nurse-patient ratio laws.

Here's an example of the paid TV and radio ads that they are running to oppose safe patient limits in Massachusetts. TV and radio ads like this cost thousands of dollars.

The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA, the ANA chapter) just launched this website to oppose safe staffing ratio laws that 90% of bedside nurses want, and this morning went on live radio to do the same.

Let me be honest with you: our opponents have a lot more money than we do.

ANA has teamed up with the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania (the lobbyists for UPMC and Geisinger, etc) with an annual budget of $30 million. That's literally 100 times what we have.

That's why we need our own Safe Staffing Fighting Fund. Click here to sign up as a monthly sustainer and give $25/month so we can win safe patient limits in Pennsylvania.

They've got the millionaires, but we've got strength in numbers. There's 250,000 nurses in our state. If 1,000 nurses give $25/month, then we can keep this movement going permanently.

The next three months before the election may be the best chance we'll ever have to win these laws. That's why we need 100 monthly sustainers donating $25/month to the Safe Staffing Fighting Fund by November 6th. Click here to sign up and join the fight.

We'll never match the millionaires for money, but we don't need to - if we get just 100 monthly donors by November 6th, that's enough to send postcards to 30,000 nurse voters to let them know which candidates support us (and which don't) before the state election.

Yours sincerely,

Sharon Mitchell RN

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Specializes in Peds ED.

Adding that this is the anti-mandated staffing ratio page PSNA set up: Mandated Nurse-to-Patient Ratios Will Not Work | PSNA

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Specializes in Peds ED.

Oh man, so I emailed they PSNA with my displeasure over their position and they replied- and listed my current hospital as the poster child for their alternative and invited to introduce me to someone there. Spoiler alert but their alternative doesn't work.

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My first job was a hideously understaffed unit that did a real job on my self esteem (I blamed myself for not being able to keep up with the workload).

Sometimes I wonder where my career would have been today if I hadn't been so emotionally drained and disillusioned by my early experience

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Specializes in Critical Care.

This is why I don't support the ANA! They are in the pockets of the hospitals and do their bidding. They do not support the nurses as they claim. Sad, real sad!

Everyone that actually pays into the PA ANA should withdraw their support and boycot them ASAP! Take their base away, take their money away, let them go begging to the hospitals if they want cash since they are in their pockets anyway!

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Specializes in Peds ED.

I've had problems with the ANA politically before too, but this was just the final straw for me of ever even considering joining.

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

If nurses counter naysayers attempts to mislead the public to motivate action Pennsylvania can be the next state to improve staffing and save lives.

Posting falsehoods is counter to nursing ethics.

Here is the organization that is leading the work for safe staffing:

PASNAP - Political Action

A couple studies:

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Implications of the California Nurse Staffing Mandate for Other States

Health Services Research, August 2010

The researchers surveyed 22,336 RNs in California and two comparable states, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with striking results, including: if they matched California state-mandated ratios in medical and surgical units, New Jersey hospitals would have 13.9 percent fewer patient deaths and Pennsylvania 10.6 percent fewer deaths.

"Because all hospitalized patients are likely to benefit from improved nurse staffing, not just general surgery patients, the potential number of lives that could be saved by improving nurse staffing in hospitals nationally is likely to be many thousands a year," according to Linda Aiken, the study's lead author.

California RNs report having significantly more time to spend with patients, and their hospitals are far more likely to have enough RNs on staff to provide quality patient care. Fewer California RNs say their workload caused them to miss changes in patient conditions than New Jersey or Pennsylvania RNs

http://www.protectmasspatients.org/docs/JAMA%20Ratio%20Study.pdf

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State-Mandated Nurse Staffing Levels Lead to Lower Patient Mortality and Higher Nurse Satisfaction

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, September 26, 2012

The California safe staffing law has increased nurse staffing levels and created more reasonable workloads for nurses in California hospitals, leading to fewer patient deaths and higher levels of job satisfaction than in other states without mandated staffing ratios.

Despite initial concerns from opponents, the skill mix of nurses used by California hospitals has not declined since implementation of the mandated ratios.

State-Mandated Nurse Staffing Levels Alleviate Workloads, Leading to Lower Patient Mortality and Higher Nurse Satisfaction | AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

This is the tip of the iceberg...feeling proud of the work I do as a nursing activist!

We will NOT stop until it is done!

As far as the ANA and the PSNA not supportive-I have stopped supporting them when the "alternative" came out about five years ago.

It's such an exciting time as a union nurse in my area!

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Specializes in Medical Legal Consultant.

I hope all PA nurses will write their state legislator to vote for this. You can find your legislator here Find Your Legislator - PA General Assembly

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