Petition to lower PA staff to patient ratio

[riotgrrl]

Hello my name is Holly Martin and I am a CNA and EMT in the state of Pennsylvania. I have been injured as of July 2010 from a workplace injury due to poor staffing at the facility in which I was a CNA. I called the state department of Health shortly after my injury and discovered that in our state the nursing direct patient care staff to patient ratio is 20 patients to 1 staff member for all shifts of the day. They're reasoning is that they feel nurses should help the nursing assistants but we know the harsh reality is that in most facilities this doesn't or can't happen due to their own shortages.

I am tired of this law being outdated. It is not fair to the patients and it certainly is not fair to the staff. I am taking a stand and I am asking for other people to also stand up and help fight this so that we may change it to a more reasonable amount of staff to patient care in our state.

I may never be able to go back to work full time as a CNA or as an EMT and that saddens me. I love to help people and save lives and I have not been able to do that for the last 14 months. It is my goal to stand up and make a difference so that it does not happen to more CNA's in our state. I am also making a stand that if the ratio is lowered and if a skilled nursing facility violates that ratio that there will be severe repercussions for them. It is time we take the initiative and save ourselves from injury and our patients from the indignity of getting improper care.

I live in the Northeast Pocono region of the state and I will be starting a petition at several of the nursing homes and hospitals in my area. I am asking that if any other members live in the state and are willing to collect signatures in their areas using the same petition that I have on file to please email me. I am doing this so that it may turn into a statewide collection and we are actually heard when I start taking the petition to local and state officials. We need people to collect as many signatures as we can so that we may actually make a difference and change the ratio in the state of Pennsylvania. If you are willing to help out and live in PA please email me at [email protected]

Thanks,

Holly Martin

PS. If you live in another state and your ratios are also high I urge you to start a petition in your state also. We need to stand up for ourselves but most importantly for our patients. We must stop cutting in areas of healthcare where it directly affects the life quality of our patients.

[eslvn]

I live in California and I have been thinking of a similar situation. In acute are RN's can have 5 patients, in ICU its 2. I do not know of any ratio for aides. I work in LTC, we dont even have ratios, state mandates 3.5 nursing hours per patients per day. This includes RN, LVN, CNA, etc, and also includes anyone working at that facility with a nursing license. Rediculous... I have 30 residents and thats not full census, I could have up to 34 people as an LVN. The CNA's are overwhelmed, I am overwhelmed, but people continue to complain about nursing homes and how horrible LTC is. Well we need ratios.