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February 18, 2010
Oppose Mandatory Nurse Staffing Ratios
HB5033 to be Heard in House Human Services Committee
A mandatory nurse staffing ratio bill, House Bill 5033, which
is nearly identical to ratio bills that have been introduced over the past
several years, will be heard in the House Human Services Committee. The bill’s
sponsor is Representative Mary Flowers (D-31, Chicago). It is important to note
that this particular committee and all but one of its members have NOT
been involved in past hearings and discussions on this issue, so it is even more
critical that they hear from hospitals.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Please call, visit, fax or email your Representative,
especially if she/he is a member of the House Human Services Committee. Let your representative know that mandatory nurse staffing ratios would be
harmful to your hospital and to patients and would not be a workable approach,
and ask him/her to OPPOSE HB5033. Share with your representative the
positive impact your hospital’s implementation of the Nurse Staffing by Patient
Acuity Act has made and emphasize that Staffing by Acuity is the right approach.
To send an email to your representative,
click here.
The list of members of the House Human Services Committee (and their contact
information) can be seen below.
Ratios proposed in HB5033 are:
1:1 in OR and trauma emergency units;
1:2 in critical care units, including emergency critical care, intensive
care, labor and delivery and post-anesthesia units;
1:3 in antepartum, emergency room, pediatrics, step-down, and telemetry
units;
1:4 in intermediate care nursery, specialty care, medical or surgical
units, and acute care psychiatric units;
1:5 in rehabilitation units;
1:6 in postpartum (3 couplets) and well-baby units.
HB5033 also would allow IDPH to prescribe even more stringent ratios in
the future.
To see the text of HB5033,
click here.
Suggested talking points on HB5033:
Please oppose House Bill 5033, and please urge your colleagues on
the House Human Services Committee to oppose HB5033.
Hospitals are engaged in many efforts to provide an excellent workplace
environment and rewarding career opportunities for nurses.
Over the past several years, the hospital community has worked with the
General Assembly to support the enactment of several key landmark laws to
enhance nurses' work environment, increase the nurse supply and promote
patient safety. These laws include the Hospital Report Card Act, a
prohibition on the use of mandated overtime, the Adverse Health Care Event
Reporting Law, the establishment of the Illinois Center for Nursing, and
most recently, the Nurse Staffing by Patient Acuity Law.
The Nursing Staffing by Patient Acuity Law assures that direct care
nurses have a significant voice in the nurse staffing process; aligns
staffing considerations based on the specific, unique needs of each patient
and nursing resources; reinforces an evidence-based approach to nurse
staffing; and recognizes the diverse staffing needs based on patients
needing care in a wide range of health care settings – from smaller,
critical access hospitals to large academic medical centers, and all points
in between.
Prescribing arbitrary and rigid one-size-fits-all formulas for nurse
staffing across all shifts and units are inappropriate and inefficient.
Nurse staffing ratios, as proposed under HB5033, incorrectly
presume that all patients are alike, that all nursing units and nursing
skills mixes are equal, and that all hospitals are the same. For example,
patients in a medical-surgical unit in a rural setting do not present the
same needs as patients in an academic medical center located in an urban
area.
Illinois’ 200 hospitals specifically tailor their staffing plans to meet
the dynamic and unique needs of patients in each of their communities.
California’s experience with its nurse staffing law has been horrendous:
patient care delays in emergency departments, surgery and other critical
services; and, compliance costs are estimated at more than $1 million per
hospital, with 23 percent of those additional costs due to an increase in
nurse wages (demand greatly exceeds the supply of available nurses).
HB5033 would impose ratios even more stringent than California’s law.
Please oppose HB5033 and urge your colleagues on the House Human
Services Committee to oppose this bill.
If you have any questions about HB5033, please call Cathy Grossi at
630-276-5706 or cgrossi@ihastaff.org
or Nichole Magalis at 217-541-1162 or
nmagalis@ihastaff.org.
|
House Human Services Committee
Members (HHSV) |
| Representative |
District Phone/Fax |
Spfld. Phone/Fax |
| Rep. Patti Bellock-R
(Minority Spokesperson) |
630-852-8633 /
630-852-6530 |
217-782-1448 /
217-782-2289 |
| Rep. Sandy Cole-R |
847-543-0062 /
847-543-8862 |
217-782-7320 /
217-782-5257 |
| Rep. Annazette Collins-D |
773-533-0010 /
773-533-1971 |
217-782-8077 /
217-557-7643 |
| Rep. Constance Howard-D |
773-783-8800 /
773-783-8773 |
217-782-6476 /
217-782-0952 |
| Rep. Naomi Jakobsson-D
(Chair) |
217-373-5000 /
217-373-8679 |
217-558-1009 /
217-557-7680 |
| Rep. Tim Schmitz-R |
630-845-9590 /
630-845-9592 |
217-782-5457 /
217-782-1138 |
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