Description of the Bill
The goal of the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2007 is "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for patient protection by establishing minimum nurse staffing ratios at certain Medicare providers, and for other purposes."
The problem identified in Congress is that "There are hospitals throughout the United States that have inadequate staffing of registered nurses to protect the well-being and health of the patients" The target population of hospitals to come into compliance is any federally funded (Medicare) hospital.
Things required for new formulation of nursing staff minimal requirements include:
-- Nurse input.
-- Have the staffing numbers required to perform more demanding patient care, such as acutely ill patients, admissions, discharges, etc.
--Acknowledgement of the disparities of geographical and technological supplies within various hospitals and allowance of the potential excess time required to access these materials.
--Acknowledge staffing shortages in other closely-related disciplines and their affects on nursing demand.
--Give nurses the power to examine a patient's medical needs and request staffing accordingly.
--Place nurses in an area of care that they feel adequately trained to provide safely.
--Strive for accurate feedback to ensure accurate nursing staffing.
--Hospitals will not be allowed to cap the number of nurses requested by nursing staff if warranted by patient condition.
-- Hospitals will keep public and overseeing governmental bodies aware of hospital records of published regarding registered nursing staff patient ratios.
-- The hospital must maintain current evaluation no older than one year of the required registered nurse-to-patient ratio.
--The newly created role of the Secretary in these hospitals will be to record and publish the data collected about registered nurse-to-patient ratios. If a person files a complaint with the level of care provided related to short staffing, the hospital may be fined and the Secretary will make note of it and publish the complaint and fine on a public website. The hospitals may not retaliate against any nurse or patient that claims that the hospital has not acted appropriately.
The goal of the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2007 is "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for patient protection by establishing minimum nurse staffing ratios at certain Medicare providers, and for other purposes."
The problem identified in Congress is that "There are hospitals throughout the United States that have inadequate staffing of registered nurses to protect the well-being and health of the patients" The target population of hospitals to come into compliance is any federally funded (Medicare) hospital.
Things required for new formulation of nursing staff minimal requirements include:
-- Nurse input.
-- Have the staffing numbers required to perform more demanding patient care, such as acutely ill patients, admissions, discharges, etc.
--Acknowledgement of the disparities of geographical and technological supplies within various hospitals and allowance of the potential excess time required to access these materials.
--Acknowledge staffing shortages in other closely-related disciplines and their affects on nursing demand.
--Give nurses the power to examine a patient's medical needs and request staffing accordingly.
--Place nurses in an area of care that they feel adequately trained to provide safely.
--Strive for accurate feedback to ensure accurate nursing staffing.
--Hospitals will not be allowed to cap the number of nurses requested by nursing staff if warranted by patient condition.
-- Hospitals will keep public and overseeing governmental bodies aware of hospital records of published regarding registered nursing staff patient ratios.
-- The hospital must maintain current evaluation no older than one year of the required registered nurse-to-patient ratio.
--The newly created role of the Secretary in these hospitals will be to record and publish the data collected about registered nurse-to-patient ratios. If a person files a complaint with the level of care provided related to short staffing, the hospital may be fined and the Secretary will make note of it and publish the complaint and fine on a public website. The hospitals may not retaliate against any nurse or patient that claims that the hospital has not acted appropriately.
Sponsor: Daniel K Inouye-D, Hawaii
Need for Policy Change
Inadequate staffing has an adverse effect on both patients and nurses. Quality of nursing care has been shown to decline with understaffing, and a patient’s health directly correlates with the number of registered nurse (RN) employees. This is an increasing problem because there is a severe shortage of and growing demand for RNs in the United States. The shortage of RNs is expected to reach 500,000 by 2025 according to Dr. Peter Buerhaus in a March 2008 report titled The Future of the Nursing Workforce in the United States: Data, Trends, and Implications (http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/NursingShortage.htm). The Federal Government will pay less money in Medicare reimbursements through decreasing the nurse to patient ratio because patient safety is better protected and fewer errors in care will occur while patients are in the hospital. If bill S.73 is passed, the decreased nurse to patient ratio will improve patient’s safety, promote a more positive work environment for RNs, and save money through reducing the number of hospital related errors and illnesses.
