Illinois Hospital Association

Mandates Nurse-Patient Ratios
Prescribes rigid one-size-fits all formulas for nurse staffing across all shifts and units that are inefficient and inappropriate.
Under existing state law, hospitals must assess each patient on their individual care needs and assign staff accordingly. In 2003, the General Assembly addressed this issue when it overwhelmingly passed – with the support of the Illinois Hospital Association – the Hospital Report Card Act, which will provide the public with patient outcome information directly related to nurse staffing.

In addition to ignoring existing law, HB 2548/SB2270 presumes that all patients are alike, all nursing units and nursing skill mixes are equal, and all hospitals are the same. The reality is that patients in a medical-surgical unit in a rural setting do not present with same needs as patients in an academic center located in an urban area. Illinois’ 200 hospitals tailor their staffing plans to meet the dynamic and unique needs of each of their communities every day and at every shift.

Proposes Ratio Numbers that Exceed The Nation’s First and Only Law Mandating Staff-Patient Ratios
HB 2548/SB2270 mandate more stringent nurse-patient ratios than California and also allow IDPH the ability to prescribe even more stringent ratios in the future.

California’s experience has yielded:

• Delays in emergency departments, surgery, and other critical services;
• Reduced access to care because 11 hospitals have closed;
• Compliance costs estimated at over $1Million per hospital, with 23% attributable to increase in nurse wages.

Imposes Non-existent "Acuity System"
HB 2548/SB2270 incorporate an established measurement tool as the "acuity system" to be used for staff plan development and annual facility reevaluation.
While HB 2548/SB2270 presume that a single standardized system of acuity exists, one does not actually exist in practice. Due to the dynamic nature of patient needs and the availability of staff skills are constantly changing, hospitals must be able to use a variety of both proprietary and non-proprietary systems to address nurse staffing.

Annual Report to IDPH
HB 2548/SB2270 require hospitals to submit their staffing plans and yearly revisions to IDPH contributing more paperwork without any corresponding benefit back to the provider community or their patients.
In addition to nurse staff information and patient outcome data that hospitals will be reporting to IDPH for public disclosure under the Hospital Report Card Act, hospitals already report massive volumes of hospital and patient data to IDPH, as well as other state agencies, e.g. EMS/Trauma, Newborn Hearing and Screening, Perinatal. The administrative and compliance cost for both hospitals and the state agency are an inefficient and unreasonable burden.

Imposes Arbitrary Financial and Licensure Penalties
HB 2548/SB2270 propose that hospitals are subject to unknown monetary penalties for violations, as well as conditional licensure actions.