Direct-Care Texas RNs Urge Lawmakers To Approve Guaranteed Safe Staffing In State's Hospitals

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 28 Apr 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Registered nurses from across Texas and the United States will be on hand Tuesday, April 28 as the Texas Legislature holds its first hearing on HB 1489, a bill to guarantee a safe ratio of nurses to patients in Texas hospitals.

The Texas Hospital Patient Protection Act of 2009, HB 1489, would save the lives of countless Texas patients with this simple patient safety improvement. The bill, bringing together the top legislative priorities of critical-care RNs, would also provide for genuine whistle-blower protections for caregivers who report unsafe care situations. HB 1489 is sponsored by Texas' new RN union and professional association, NNOC-Texas (the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas) and its 10,000 critical-care nurse activists.

What: Texas Legislature Hearing for HB 1489-RN Availability
When: Tuesday, April 28 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Where: Capital Extension Room E2.012
Texas State Capitol, Austin

Safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios have been shown in dozens of studies to save lives, reduce medical complications and been a critical factor in mitigating the nursing shortage. In California, where ratios have been in place since 2004, the number of actively licensed RNs has increased by nearly 100,000. This vital safety measure has been implemented in hospital units from California to Arizona and Australia, and is the top healthcare reform priority of RNs across the country.

The Texas Hospital Association (THA), with its nurse executive allies, has meanwhile proposed legislation to stall the drive for safe RN-to-patient ratios, and instead only encourages hospitals to publish their staffing plans, safe or unsafe. This voluntary proposal is a spoiler bill that maintains the status quo and would leave Texas' crisis of unsafe staffing unresolved, leading RNs to oppose THA's bill HB 541.

"RNs are patient advocates, but we need to be present at the bedside to do that," said Olga Perez, a registered nurse from San Antonio. "Safe RN-to-patient ratios are how we make that happen, and how we cut back on the tragic outcomes caused by the epidemic of unsafe staffing in Texas hospitals."

"Safe staffing saves lives, and it's that simple," said Geri Jenkins, RN, co-president of NNOC.

About The Texas Hospital Patient Protection Act:

HB1489/SB 1000

- Sets minimum RN-to-patient staffing ratios
- Assures RNs the legal guarantee to serve as patient advocates
- Establishes real whistle-blower protections for RNs who expose unsafe conditions

Ratios:

The portion of the law establishing minimum, safe RN-to-patient ratios is modeled on landmark laws in California and Australia which are directly improving patient care in those areas, and attracting RNs from around the world to practice their profession in a safe atmosphere.

The Texas RN ratios would require minimum ratios by unit - a floor for patient safety, with increased staffing when needed based on the severity of patient illness. Research has shown the need for such an approach.

This approach has been shown to save lives. One study (The American Journal of Public Health, August 2005) found that cutting ratios to one RN per four patients could save 72,000 lives nationally, while another (Journal of the American Medical Association, October 22, 2002) found that up to 22,000 American lives are lost each year due to unsafe ratios. Other studies have linked everything from the rise of staph infections to the spread of pneumonia to unsafe ratios for direct-care nurses.

For more information on ratios, download a PDF of "The Ratios Solution," booklet here.

Patient Advocacy and Whistle-blower Protections:

Nurses have an ethical obligation to serve as patient advocates, which in practice can mean standing up to doctors, hospital executives, insurance representatives, or others. This ethical obligation and practice ensures that all care is provided in the exclusive interests of patients, and not based on budgetary considerations.

Texas law does not currently guarantee this obligation for RNs, nor does it provide strong whistle-blower protections for RNs who do challenge unsafe care for their patients. The state's existing Safe Harbor law severely burdens and interferes with RN independent professional practice responsibility, endangering Texas patients. The Texas Hospital Patient Protection Act of 2009 would remedy this.

Source
California Nurses Association

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