Connecticut Bill Would Require Reporting of Nurse-to-Patient Ratio

A proposed Connecticut House Bill would require hospitals to report their nurse-to-patient ratio on an annual basis and provide a quarterly report of actual daily nurse staffing levels to the state department of health.

Along with the annual and quarterly reports, the bill would also require hospitals within the state to develop a nurse staffing plan and would allow the department of health to make the annual and quarterly reports available to the public.  

The Connecticut Hospital Association has opposed the bill. "The bill would create an unnecessary administrative burden and have no meaningful effect on the provision of safe, quality patient care," said Elizabeth Beaudin, senior director of population health and workforce at the CHA, in testimony before the Public Health Committee. The reporting required under the bill "would not reflect the complexity and dynamic nature of hospital staffing and would provide no insight on or benchmark for improvements," said Ms. Beaudin. 

The bill is sponsored by State Representative Edwin Vargas (D-Hartford).  

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