New York lawmakers are weighing the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act, a bill that would set nurse-to-patient ratios for certain departments in hospitals and nursing homes.
The bill would require each New York hospital to submit an annual documented staffing plan and would authorize nurses to refuse work assignments if they exceed the staffing ratio. The following staffing ratios would be required for each department:
• One nurse to one patient: Operating rooms, trauma emergency units and all critical care areas — including intensive care units.
• One nurse to two patients: Maternal and child care units for the patients' first stage of labor and post-anesthesia units.
• One nurse to three patients: Antepartum, emergency department, pediatrics, units for newborns and telemetry units.
• One nurse to four patients: Non-critical antepartum patients, medical/surgical units and acute-care psychiatric units.
• One nurse to five patients: Rehabilitation units.
• One nurse to six patients: Well-baby nursery units.
The bill, A00921 and S4553, is supported by the New York State Nurses Association but opposed by the Greater New York Hospital Association and the New York State Organization of Nurse Executives, according to a report from Nurse.com.
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The bill would require each New York hospital to submit an annual documented staffing plan and would authorize nurses to refuse work assignments if they exceed the staffing ratio. The following staffing ratios would be required for each department:
• One nurse to one patient: Operating rooms, trauma emergency units and all critical care areas — including intensive care units.
• One nurse to two patients: Maternal and child care units for the patients' first stage of labor and post-anesthesia units.
• One nurse to three patients: Antepartum, emergency department, pediatrics, units for newborns and telemetry units.
• One nurse to four patients: Non-critical antepartum patients, medical/surgical units and acute-care psychiatric units.
• One nurse to five patients: Rehabilitation units.
• One nurse to six patients: Well-baby nursery units.
The bill, A00921 and S4553, is supported by the New York State Nurses Association but opposed by the Greater New York Hospital Association and the New York State Organization of Nurse Executives, according to a report from Nurse.com.
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Nurses, Hospitals in Massachusetts Go to War Over Law Governing Staffing Levels