State Dems call for nurse staffing quotas

By Alanna Durkin
Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Nurses Association joined Democratic lawmakers Monday in their push to make Michigan the second state to mandate hospital staffing levels, but hospital officials expressed concern the requirement could backfire due to higher costs.

Democratic Sen. Rebekah Warren of Ann Arbor and Rep. Jon Switalski of Warren recently introduced legislation that would require Michigan hospitals to develop and implement staffing plans and meet statewide minimum nurse-to-patient ratio requirements, depending on the type of patient.

The bills would, for example, require hospitals to have one nurse for every patient in critical care units and one nurse for every four patients in pediatric units. It also would ban mandatory overtime for nurses except in emergencies.

Dr. Laurence Rosen, a health care researcher at Public Policy Associates, said during a telephone news conference Monday that research shows low nurse staffing levels are associated with higher death rates and can also cause patient complications like blood stream infection and hospital induced pneumonia.
Similar legislation has been introduced every year since 2004 but has failed to gain traction, Switalski said.

“Without a doubt, the hospital industry has a firm grip on the Legislature,” he said.

California is the only state that has statewide nurse-to-patient ratio requirements. Lawmakers in other states, including Minnesota, have introduced similar measures this year.

Chris Mitchell, senior director of advocacy at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, which opposes the legislation, pointed to studies which show only mixed results since California passed the legislation.

He said in a statement that one study found some California hospitals had “difficulties in absorbing the costs of the ratios, and many had to cut budgets, reduce services, or employ other cost-saving measures.”

Warren said Michigan has requirements for the number of day care providers that must be present as well as laws that limit the number of hours a truck driver can be on the road.

“When it comes to a life and death situation like we have in our hospital care setting, we are letting our citizens down if we don’t talk about the same kind of common sense plan,” she said.

But Mitchell said the legislation does not address the bigger issue of state and nationwide nurse shortages.

“Hospitals simply cannot maintain a supply of nurses that do not exist,” he said.