Schwarzenegger Suspends Nurse Requirements Until 2008

[alexisfree]

Schwarzenegger Suspends Nurse Requirements Until 2008

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/health/3891953/detail.html

POSTED: 8:04 pm PST November 4, 2004
UPDATED: 8:07 pm PST November 4, 2004
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Angering nurses across California, the Schwarzenegger administration moved Thursday to delay a requirement for additional nurses in hospital medical and surgical units.

The staffing increase, set to take effect Jan. 1, would require one nurse for every five patients in those units. On Thursday, Health Director Sandra Shewry announced a new emergency regulation that would suspend the change until 2008, keeping intact the current ratio of one nurse for each six patients.

The emergency regulation was submitted to the Office of Administrative Law, which has 10 days to reject or accept it.

In announcing the suspension, Shewry cited the financial challenges for hospitals in meeting the new ratios. She also said nursing homes and home health agencies are finding it harder to recruit nurses with more headed toward hospital jobs.

"We've seen hospitals use ratios as a factor that contributed toward decisions to close a hospital, or downgrade an emergency room or downgrade or close a psychiatric unit," Shewry said.

The changes announced Thursday would also give hospitals temporary flexibility from staffing ratios when they receive an unforeseen influx of patients with immediate needs.

The 57,000-member California Nurses Association immediately branded the administration's move "a disgraceful attack on patient safety in California."

The CNA, which sponsored 1999 legislation to add more nurses for patients, then successfully defended a legal attack on the law this year by hospitals, plans a Dec. 1 march on Schwarzenegger's office to protest the decision.

"The medical surgical units are where one third of patients are," said CNA spokesman Chuck Idleson.

"By attacking these ratios, what you're doing is putting more patients at risk," Idelson said. "Patients will have to wait longer for care. One reason they had long waits for care in the past is inadequate staffing."

Hospitals sued last December to block the law one day before its regulations took effect. Among other things, it requires them to hire one nurse for every two patients in intensive care, labor and delivery units and one nurse per patient in operating rooms and emergency rooms.

The California Healthcare Association, representing 400 California hospitals, argued that lack of flexibility in the new ratios would make it nearly impossible to staff their facilities because of a statewide nursing shortage.

California is the only state with such staffing ratios. Shewry said the administration would begin a study, to be finished in 2007, of existing and proposed ratios to determine their effects on patient care.

"We really have the obligation to answer these questions before these additional changes," Shewry said.

Idelson responded, "This has been studied to death in California and nationally."

[agates]

1. Arnold--That SOB

Is it too much to hope for that someone he loves will someday need a nurse and there won't be one there for them?

[mike_c]

2. yes, Arnold will always be able to afford the best care...

...money can buy.

[morcatknits]

3. Nursing Costs

Well, whatever nursing costs are in the future, it will be less than in the past, since Bush's labor department declared registered nurses ineligible for overtime pay. Nurses will now be expected to work in excess of their 40 hours per week, without receiving overtime pay. So, lets' just require that they do more, too, while we're at it.

They tried to cover it up in the media, by saying that RN's were never eligible for overtime pay. That should come as a big surprise both to nurses accustomed to receiving the pay, and to the hospitals who had been fined for witholding it.

We have another Bush Catch 22: There aren't enough nurses, so lets' pay them less, worsening the shortage, but expect them to do more, worsening the liability. Smart -- huh? So, just what do the trial lawyers have to do with this? You guessed -- nothing. Stupid measures like this don't lead to frivilous lawsuits, either, they lead to the real thing!
morcatknits -- 30 years an RN

[mike_c]

4. welcome to DU....

:toast:

[aquart]

5. Shortsightedness is the hallmark of a BushCo plan.

[teryang]

7. This is the trend in many career fields - labor exploitation

The corporatists call it increasing productivity. Getting more out of each employee and paying them less for it.

[PROUDNWLIBERAL]

6. RN not going to work in California

My wife is an RN with a California license. She will not be looking for a job in California. Republican compassion---have fun dieing California. Also, remember Arnold will not let Californians get cheaper drugs from Canada. Heil California!!!!!!!!!!