SILVER SPRING, Md., March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Nurses Association (ANA) today commended the introduction of federal bipartisan legislation that will ensure adequate registered nurse (RN) staffing in health care facilities, a step that will protect nurses and patients from possible harmful ramifications caused by unsafe staffing practices while also helping to stem a growing nationwide nursing shortage. The bill, the Quality Nursing Care Act of 2005 (H.R. 1372), was introduced March 17 in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Lois Capps (D-CA) and Robert Simmons (R-CT).
ANA, working closely with Representative Capps’ and Simmons’ offices, lobbied for this bill to protect patients and RNs. If enacted, the legislation will mandate the development of staffing systems in hospitals aimed at ending the widespread practice of health care facilities stretching their nursing staff with unsafe patient loads, mandatory overtime, “floating” to specialty units without training and orientation, and other practices that undermine the delivery of safe, quality care.
“ANA commends Representatives Capps and Simmons for their perseverance and continued leadership on this issue and for their commitment to protecting patients and nurses from potentially harmful practices,” said ANA President Barbara Blakeney, MS, RN. “This legislation is necessary to protect patients and to improve the nursing work environment, and it will help recruit new people into the profession while also retaining practicing nurses.”
The Quality Nursing Care Act builds on more than a decade of research showing that RNs make the quality difference in patient care and that when RN care is insufficient, patient safety is compromised and the risk of death is increased.
For example, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that RN staffing levels have a significant effect on preventable hospital deaths among post-surgery patients. Nurses in the study cared for an average of four patients at a time, with the risk of death increasing by about 7 percent for each additional patient cared for over that baseline number.
The Quality Nursing Care Act of 2005 will ensure that patients receive safe, quality nursing care in hospitals and other health care institutions. The proposed legislation mandates the development of staffing systems that require the input of direct-care RNs, and it provides whistle-blower protections for RNs who speak out about patient care issues, including inadequate levels of nurse staffing. The bill complements S. 71, which was introduced by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) on Jan. 24, 2005.
In addition, the bill amends the conditions of participation in the Medicare program and establishes a requirement for minimum staffing ratios. Rather than establishing a specific numeric ratio, the act requires the establishment of a staffing system that “ensures a number of registered nurses on each shift and in each unit of the hospital to ensure appropriate staffing levels for patient care.” Specifically, the staffing system must:
* be created in partnership with direct-care RNs or their designated representative; * be based on the number of patients and level and intensity of care to be provided, including admissions, discharges and transfers; * account for architecture and geography of the environment and available technology; * reflect the level of preparation and experience of those providing care; * reflect staffing levels recommended by specialty nursing organizations; and * provide that an RN not be forced to “float” to a particular unit without prior training or orientation.
Another key provision of the bill requires public reporting of staffing information. Under this mandate, hospitals would be required to post daily the number of licensed and unlicensed staff providing direct patient care on each unit and each shift, while specifically noting the number of RNs.
The bill also incorporates ANA’s Principles for Nurse Staffing. Rather than recommending specific numeric ratios, ANA developed the Principles for Nurse Staffing as a tool to better gauge appropriate staffing. The principles not only take into account the number of patients but also look at other staffing considerations, such as the experience level of nurses working on the unit, patient acuity, and support services and resources. For details, see http://nursingworld.org/readroom/stffprnc.htm.
Similar legislation regarding safe staffing was enacted in Oregon in 2001 and regulations were put into place in Texas in 2002.
The ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation’s 2.7 million registered nurses through its 54 constituent member nurses associations. The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
American Nurses Association
CONTACT: Cindy Price, +1-301-628-5038, cprice@ana.org, or Carol Cooke,+1-301-628-5027, ccooke@ana.org, both of the American Nurses Association,http://www.nursingworld.org/rnrealnews
Web site: http://www.nursingworld.org/