MYTH
Nursing ratios would aggravate the existing nursing shortage.

FACT
Staffing ratios help tackle the root cause of the nurse shortage – overwork and burn out.  Too many nurses are leaving the profession because inadequate staffing which leads to punishing workloads, tremendous stress and declining quality of care.  In a recent survey of Illinois nurses, 89% believe that requiring nurses to care for too many patients is a very important factor in the growing nursing shortage.  After the passage of nurse ratios in California, the growth in actively licensed RNs jumped to 10,000, up from 3,200. 

MYTH
Nursing ratios forced hospitals in California to close.

FACT
In a California court case challenging the implementation of nurse staffing ratios, a judge concluded that there was no evidence that hospital closures were due to the nurse staffing ratios.  The ratios went into effect two years ago, and according to research and statements from the California Department of Health Services, implementation has proceeded without major problems.  And according to a recent analysis, the financial health of California hospitals has improved over the last five years.

MYTH
Implementing nurse staffing ratios would cost hospitals too much.

FACT
Having a sensible RN-to-patient ratio not only saves lives, it is cost effective.  According to a study done by Harvard School of Public Health, patients in hospitals with a high RN ratio have 3% to 6% shorter stays, reducing costs. An economic analysis of several options for increasing RN staffing concluded that the even most expensive option would result in an increase in operating expenses of just 1%, while another option would have cost savings of $242 million.

MYTH
Hospitals will cut other staff, placing a greater burden on RNs.

FACT
Cutting other hospital staff would violate the staffing ratios bill proposed in Illinois, which requires hospitals to staff by acuity for all care-giving staff.  Nurses in California have not reported hospital managers resorting to such tactics.
 
MYTH
Nursing ratios are “one-size-fits-all,” ignoring differences in patient acuity and nursing skill mix.

FACT
The staffing ratios set a minimum number of RNs needed to ensure adequate patient care based on research, physician groups recommendations and experience.  In addition, hospitals must develop a plan to staff based on patient acuity to determine if more RNs are needed.  But to ensure patient safety, the law would not give hospitals the “flexibility” to have fewer nurses than the minimum number needed for safe, quality patient care.

For decades, hospitals have had tremendous flexibility in staffing but the results are dismal.  With medical errors resulting in an estimated 100,000 preventable deaths a year and hospital-acquired infections like MRSA on the rise, steps must be taken to ensure hospital patients get safe, quality care.

MYTH
A staffing ratios law is not needed because the Illinois Hospital Report Card Act (HRCA), the staffing acuity law and nurse education initiatives address nurse staffing issues.

FACT
The HRCA simply requires hospitals to report on nurse staffing levels.  It does not set any standards for staffing.  The new nurse staffing acuity bill also does not set requirements for safe staffing levels and mostly duplicates already existing regulations. 

Everyone agrees that nurse education programs are important but they won’t solve the problem of chronic understaffing.  And improved nurse staffing will help keep new nurse recruits at the bedside.  By ensuring that all hospitals have adequate nurse staffing, a ratios law helps improve the quality of patient care and quality of life for nurses.