Staffing ratios

Nurses Activism

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If you want staffer staffing ratios please sign and share a petition. Just google safe nurse to patient ratios petition. Thank you

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Is there a bill in the works for set ratios?

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
Is there a bill in the works for set ratios?

We have two national safe patient ratio bills, one in the Senate S. 864 (Boxer) and the House HR 1602 (Schakowsky).

  • The National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act | S. 864 (Boxer) This bill establishes requirements for acute-care facilities to provide registered nurse staff based on the acuity of patients provided that minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for each unit are met at all times. Registered nurses shall also have the obligation to act in the exclusive interest of their patients, and the right to be patient advocates. https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s864/BILLS-114s864is.pdf
  • Safe Nurse Staffing for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act - HR 1602 (Schakowsky) Nurses are increasingly put into impossible situations by hospital managers who demand they care for more patients than is safe. There is a proven method to save patient lives and save hospital money — mandated minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. In Congress, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) re-introduced her Safe Nurse Staffing for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act to improve patient quality of care by establishing a requirement for nurse-to-patient ratios that put patient safety first. https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr1602/BILLS-114hr1602ih.pdf

www.SafePatientRatios.org

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If there are two bills already, we should be putting the heat on Congress to act on them. Not wasting our time rallying each other and our friends and relatives to go to a govt website to sign a meaningless petition.

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Specializes in Post Acute, Home, Inpatient, Hospice/Pall Care.
If there are two bills already, we should be putting the heat on Congress to act on them. Not wasting our time rallying each other and our friends and relatives to go to a govt website to sign a meaningless petition.

Petitions help do that, they are FAR from meaningless.

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.

People can also send Letters to Congress urging support for the introduced ratio legislation!

Legislative Action Center | National Nurses United

Legislative Action Center | National Nurses United

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Petitions help do that, they are FAR from meaningless.

Please, tell me about all the meaningful legislation that has come from the petitions signed on that White House website.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

Is this for all states?

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
Is this for all states?
Yes this is national legislation.

Summary of United States Senate Bill:

Introduced in Senate (03/25/2015)

National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act

Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit. Requires HHS to develop a transparent method for establishing nurse staffing requirements above minimum ratios.

Directs HHS to adjust Medicare payments to hospitals to cover additional costs incurred in providing services to Medicare beneficiaries that are attributable to compliance with such ratios.

Gives nurses the right to act as the patient's advocate by initiating action to improve health care and by giving the patient an opportunity to make informed health care decisions. Allows a nurse to object to, or refuse to participate in, any assignment if it would violate minimum ratios or if the nurse is not prepared by education or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of a patient or jeopardizing the nurse's license. Prohibits a hospital from:

1) taking specified actions against a nurse based on the nurse's refusal to accept an assignment for such a reason; or

(2) discriminating against any individual for good faith complaints relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or of any related facilities.

Adds stipends to the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program. Expands the nurse retention grant program to authorize programs to implement nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/864

Summary of United States House of Representatives Companion Bill:

Introduced in House (03/25/2015)

Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2015

Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement and submit to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a staffing plan that complies with specified minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by unit.

Requires HHS to develop a transparent method for establishing nurse staffing requirements above minimum ratios.

Directs HHS to adjust Medicare payments to hospitals to cover additional costs incurred in providing services to Medicare beneficiaries that are attributable to compliance with such ratios.

Allows a nurse to object to, or refuse to participate in, any assignment if it would violate minimum ratios or if the nurse is not prepared by education or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of a patient or jeopardizing the nurse's license. Prohibits a hospital from:

(1) taking specified actions against a nurse based on the nurse's refusal to accept an assignment for such a reason; or

(2) discriminating against any individual for good faith complaints relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or of any related facilities.

Adds stipends to the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program. Expands the nurse retention grant program to authorize programs to implement nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1602

We can write, email, or call our senators and house member encouraging them to become a co-sponsor.

Better yet we can go to their local office and educate their staff.

The links below give educational material to use:

http://nurses.3cdn.net/efeb15c6d3390ffdfa_2fm6b10r5.pdf

http://nurses.3cdn.net/822859892eff468d47_ehm6yhad5.pdf

http://nurses.3cdn.net/f0da47b347e41bb03a_z1m6vl1sd.pdf

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Should it be a red flag that 2 bills that mandate staffing ratios don't specify what the ratio should be?

It appears the ratio is to be based on acuity, which is too vague to be of any use. In HD, most states have strict, specific staffing ratios.

https://allnurses.com/nurse-colleague-patient/difficult-patient-definition-1015600.html

Here's a thread discussing the problems with trying to quantify the acuity of a patient.

Disclaimer:

I didn't click on all the links provided so I may have missed something important.

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Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
Should it be a red flag that 2 bills that mandate staffing ratios don't specify what the ratio should be?

It appears the ratio is to be based on acuity, which is too vague to be of any use. In HD, most states have strict, specific staffing ratios.

https://allnurses.com/nurse-colleague-patient/difficult-patient-definition-1015600.html

Here's a thread discussing the problems with trying to quantify the acuity of a patient.

Disclaimer:

I didn't click on all the links provided so I may have missed something important.

No need to fly the red flag.

From the Senate bill:

Minimum direct care registered nurse-to-Patient ratios.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in this section, a hospital's staffing plan shall provide that, at all times during each shift within a unit of the hospital, a direct care registered nurse shall be assigned to not more than the following number of patients in that unit, subject to paragraph (4):

(A) One patient in trauma emergency units.

(B) One patient in operating room units, provided that a minimum of 1 additional person serves as a scrub assistant in such unit.

© Two patients in critical care units, including neonatal intensive care units, emergency critical care and intensive care units, labor and delivery units, coronary care units, acute respiratory care units, postanesthesia units, and burn units.

(D) Three patients in emergency room units, stepdown units, pediatrics units, telemetry units, antepartum units, and combined labor, delivery, and postpartum units.

(E) Four patients in medical-surgical units, intermediate care nursery units, psychiatric units, and other specialty care units.

(F) Five patients in rehabilitation units, and skilled nursing units.

(G) Six patients in well-baby nursery units and postpartum (3 couplets) units.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/864/text

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No need to fly the red flag.

From the Senate bill:

So sorry, I should have clicked these links, I thought they were the same as the first two links. Much better.

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