Legislation Would Also Set Whistleblower Protection for Nurses

National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, applauded the introduction of powerful patient protection legislation in Congress today. The bills, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and sponsored by NNU, set specific safety limits on the numbers of patients each RN can care for in hospitals throughout the U.S.

“Studies have clearly shown that safe staffing saves lives, and we commend Sen. Brown and Rep. Schakowsky for taking an important stand for patient safety with this critical legislation,” said Deborah Burger, RN, co-president of NNU. “It is a travesty that 49 out of 50 states in the U.S. impose no legal limit on how many patients can be assigned to a nurse at one time in acute care hospitals.

“NNU has fought for years to right that wrong,” she continued, “and we hope our elected officials will stand with the nurses to say that hospital patients deserve safe nursing care.”

The bills, both known as the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act, establish minimum RN-to-patient ratios for every hospital unit at all times. These bills also provide whistleblower protection to assure that nurses are free to speak out for enforcement of safe staffing standards. 

Nurses applaud Sen. Brown and Rep. Schakowsky for doing the right thing by patients, pointing out that studies show that when RNs are forced to care for too many patients at one time, patients are at higher risk of preventable medical errors, avoidable complications, falls and injuries, pressure sores, increased length of stay, and readmissions. In addition, RNs experience higher burnout rates and job dissatisfaction.  According to a 2002 study (Aiken, et al), for example, for each additional surgical patient in an RN’s workload above the baseline nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:4, the likelihood of patient death within 30 days increases by 7 percent.

The bills are modeled on a California law, fought for and won by the California Nurses Association/NNU, that has saved patient lives, improved the quality of care, and reduced nurse burnout, keeping experienced RNs at the patient bedside.

“In California we have seen the results. The law works, and all Americans deserve the quality of care that real safe staffing laws provide,” said Bonnie Castillo, RN, NNU’s Director of Health and Safety. “The evidence demonstrates that RN staffing ratios prevent unnecessary sickness, injuries and even death. It’s time for Congress to make these standards the law of the land, across the country.”

National Nurses United represents over 150,000 RNs nationwide.