The Ohio Nurses Association is sounding the alarm on understaffing in hospitals through a new "Code Red" advocacy campaign.
The campaign will focus on five strategic areas: safe staffing, working conditions, attracting and retaining bedside workers, corporate trends and dignity of nurses' work. The campaign's main goal is to promote safe staffing ratios across healthcare facilities in the state, the association said.
"To address the patient care crisis in Ohio, we must first address safe staffing in all areas of care in our state," ONA President Robert Weitzel, BSN, RN, said during a May 23 press conference. "Staffing levels have a significant impact on patient outcomes, and nurses must play a role — a critical role — in advocating for safe staffing ratios."