the official minimum nurse-to-patient ratios set by the department of health services.
icu/ccu/neo-natal intensive care 1:2
burnunit 1:2
or/pacu
under anesthesia 1:1
post anesthesia 1:2
er (triage rns not counted in ratios)
general 1:4
critical care 1:2
trauma 1:1
medical and surgical (initial ratio) 1:6
12 to 18 months phase-in 1:5
step-down/intermediate care/dou 1:4
step-down/telemetry 1:4
telemetry 1:5
oncology/speciality care 1:5
labor and delivery 1:2
post partum*
couplets 1:4
mothers only 1:6
pediatrics 1:4
intermediate care nursery 1:4
well baby nursery 1:8
psychiatric/behavioral health 1:6
mixed units (initial ratio) 1:6
12 to 18 months phase-in 1:5
notes:
* if maternal child has ante partum and post-partum - 1:3
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california governor expected to release nurse staffing ratios
california gov. gray davis is expected to call for nurse staffing ratios of one nurse to every six patients on general medical floors of hospitals. it is a compromise between nurse groups, which wanted one-to-three, and the hospital industry, which wanted one-to-10.
IN his specious attack on the California Nurses Association, Warren Hinckle has managed to turn the world on its head ("Nurses and Politics," The Examiner, Jan. 30).
The minimum nurse-to-patient ratios established by Gov. Gray Davis and the state of California will, when finalized after regulatory review, be a quantum leap forward for patients and nurses across California.
No other state or governor in the United States has taken such a profound and courageous step - in the face of the heated opposition of the powerful health care industry, led by the very Kaiser Permanente corporation which Mr. Hinckle apparently adores.
By contrast, Kaiser, joined by its SEIU partners, lobbied against the law, and then proposed a five-year delay in implementation.
Kaiser's latest move looks like little more than a PR stunt, claiming it will move forward with ratios that do not have the force of law and can be changed with Kaiser's next lurch in staffing practices - as when it laid off 1,600 RNs in the mid-1990s.
These ratios will lead to improvements in care for virtually all California hospitals, especially San Francisco, which is plagued with frequent ambulance diversions and long waits for patient care while unstaffed beds sit empty.
These ratios will help us bring nurses back to the bedside, reducing the time patients wait for access to a hospital bed or to receive care from a registered nurse.
Thats what I was thinking. Was wondering how he decided on the number of 1:6 instead of the 1:4 that the article says already exists in some hospitals in his state. If its not the law, these hospitals can try to change their better ratios when new contract talks come up.
NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN
10 Articles; 19,198 Posts
SanFrancisco Examiner
Op-Ed opinion
Publication date: 02/07/2002
http://www.examiner.com/opinion/default.jsp?story=op.letters.0207w
Hinckle off-base
IN his specious attack on the California Nurses Association, Warren Hinckle has managed to turn the world on its head ("Nurses and Politics," The Examiner, Jan. 30).
The minimum nurse-to-patient ratios established by Gov. Gray Davis and the state of California will, when finalized after regulatory review, be a quantum leap forward for patients and nurses across California.
No other state or governor in the United States has taken such a profound and courageous step - in the face of the heated opposition of the powerful health care industry, led by the very Kaiser Permanente corporation which Mr. Hinckle apparently adores.
By contrast, Kaiser, joined by its SEIU partners, lobbied against the law, and then proposed a five-year delay in implementation.
Kaiser's latest move looks like little more than a PR stunt, claiming it will move forward with ratios that do not have the force of law and can be changed with Kaiser's next lurch in staffing practices - as when it laid off 1,600 RNs in the mid-1990s.
These ratios will lead to improvements in care for virtually all California hospitals, especially San Francisco, which is plagued with frequent ambulance diversions and long waits for patient care while unstaffed beds sit empty.
These ratios will help us bring nurses back to the bedside, reducing the time patients wait for access to a hospital bed or to receive care from a registered nurse.
Gov. Davis deserves our thanks.
Kay McVay
Concord
President, California Nurses Association