Staffing Ratios

[-jt]

more legislation on staffing ratios - in FLORIDA, no less! Who would have ever guessed????? ; )

2/25/02

"A bill introduced recently in the Florida Senate would establish minimum nurse-to-patient hospital staffing ratios more stringent then the ones announced earlier in California, while also setting ratios for facilities other than hospitals. Additionally, this bill includes banning mandatory overtime for direct-care nurses.

The proposed Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act, backed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU/AFL-CIO), would set minimum ratios of:

1:1 in operating rooms and trauma emergency rooms

1:2 in critical care/intensive care, labor and delivery, and post anesthesia recovery rooms

1:3 in the Emergency Department, pediatrics, and telemetry

1:4 in medical-surgical units and intermediate nurseries

1:5 in skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities

1:6 in postpartum and well baby nurseries.

The Florida Hospital Association opposes the legislation on the grounds that hospitals need the flexibility to determine staffing based on the condition and needs of patients, and the experience and education mix of the patient care team." >>

http://www.Nursingspectrum.com

[tiger]

does anyone know about how these laws will effect lpns? eleven years ago up until this year the rns and lpns split the pts. the same in my facility. now the lpns have alot more pts than the rn cause the rn is ultimately responsible for all.if the law says the rn has five--does that mean the lpn has 20? i understand the rationale that gives the rn less pts. but wonder what it means for the lpns.

[-jt]

I read something about Calif staffing legislation that suggested that LPNs not be included in the number of nurses to meet the ratio. The idea is to avoid the RN having 5 pts with the LPN also having 5 pts which would give the RN the actual responsibility of all 10 pts so, there was a recommendation that LPNs not be assigned their own patients at all but be utilized only to assist the RNs on the floors instead.

I havent seen anything else on the Florida legislation so I dont know what theyre looking at but the intent of staffing legislation is that the ratio refers to RNs. You might try looking the bill up on the Florida state govt website or the SEIU-nurse alliance website to see if there is anything else about that.

[-jt]

Anyway, the union nurses got this bill into the state legislature. Now its up to ALL Florida nurses to contact their elected state officials & pressure them to support & vote for it. It can be done.

good luck

[bestblondRN]

And let's hope the other states follow in suit....soon!

[-jt]

Its up to the nurses in those states to get it done.

Currently there is safe staffing legsilation in the works at the state legislatures of 12 states: AL, CT, FL, IL, ME, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SC, WV.

Different forms of safe staffing legislations have already been passed in 7 states: CA, KY, NH, NM, OR, RI, VA

12 & 7 = 19. We have 50 states. Whats wrong with the rest of them???

"Real Solutions to the Nurse Staffing Crisis"

http://www.ana.org/gova/state.htm