Medical experts agree that the toll of medical errors in the U.S. health system is unacceptably high.  Those errors result in tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths and hundreds of thousands of preventable injuries in hospital settings each year.

Experts also agree that having enough nurses at the bedside is essential for safe, high quality patient care

• A study published in the journal Health Services Review in April 2010 determines that if the California nurse-to-patient ratios had been in force in New Jersey and Pennsylvania hospitals, there would have been 13.9 percent fewer surgical deaths in New Jersey and 10.6 percent fewer surgical deaths in Pennsylvania- saving thousands of lives.
• According to a study published by the American Public Health Association in 2005, setting safe nurse-to-patient ratios (1 nurse caring for no more than 4 patients) could save 72,000 lives annually. 

FIRST STEP: PASS SB1342 TO ALLOW ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT RN STAFFING

In 2007 Governor Rod Blagojevich signed the "Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity" Act (SB867) into law.  The bill was supported by legislators who wanted to address long-standing concerns about inadequate nurse staffing in Illinois hospitals and sets the following requirements:

• Requires hospitals to develop and implement written staffing plans and review them semi-annually that provides for minimum registered nurse-to-patient staffing needs.
• Requires hospitals to have a nursing care committee which provides hospital administrators with recommendations on the written staffing plan. At least 50% of the members of the nursing care committees must be RNs with direct patient care responsibilities.
• Requires that the written staffing plans identify an acuity model for determining patient care needs.

Many nurses were concerned that the law would have little impact on actual nurse staffing because the requirements for a written staffing plan, a nursing care committee and the identification of the acuity models used were already set in the Hospital Licensing Act and the Hospital Report Card Act rules.  Nevertheless, nurses were interested in serving on the nursing care committees and reviewing the written staffing plans developed.

However, a comprehensive review of the written staffing plans is not possible due to a loophole in the law.  As currently written, the law simply requires that "the written staffing plan shall be posted in a conspicuous and accessible location for patients and direct care staff."  Hospitals are not required to provide written copies of their plans, making it impossible to review, evaluate and compare hospitals' plans for nurse staffing.

SB1342 for transparency and accountability on nurse staffing 

In order to provide legislators and the general public with accurate and systematic information regarding hospitals' staffing plans, RN2RN Networks is supporting SB 1342, sponsored by Senator Kimberly Lightford, which amends the "Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity" Act to require hospitals to provide copies of their hospital-wide staffing plan.   It can be read here . 

RN RATIOS: REAL IMPROVEMENTS IN NURSE STAFFING

Senator Lightford has introduced a bill (SB1296) in the Illinois Legislature to improve nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.  To read the bill, click here.    There is also a companion bill in the House sponsored by Rep. Flowers (HB0282).   

Call or write your elected officials in the Illinois Legislature and ask them to support these bills in order to have a real impact on nurse staffing and patient outcomes.  If you do not know who your elected officials are, you can find out here.