Nurse staffing ratio law may prompt debate between stakeholders The Health Policy Commission will begin discussions in October about how to implement part of a new nurse staffing law, but already some stakeholders are gearing up for a fight.
The legislation, passed unanimously by both the state Senate and House in late June and seen as a productive compromise between nurses and hospital administrators, requires that there be one nurse to one patient in any intensive care unit. Hospitals can increase the ratio to two patients in certain circumstances by using a patient acuity tool.
The tool will look at a number of patient statistics to determine how sick a patient is. While acuity tools have been used throughout hospitals for some time to assess patient wellness, this is the first time the state would regulate the requirements for such a tool, and the first time that tool can be used definitively to determine on staffing...more, click here.
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