Stand up for Patients - Safe Patient Care Legislation

Stand up for patients and hospital workers. Over the past decades of managed care, hospitals have cut corners by understaffing and using mandatory overtime to meet their care responsibilities. These practices are jeopardizing patient safety and driving many nurses out of the nursing profession. Tell your state legislator it's time to limit these practices and to support Senate Bill 63 and House Bill 4339. Tell me more

Subject:

Dear [ Decision Maker ],

(Edit Letter Below)

I am concerned about the staffing levels and the use of mandatory overtime in our state's hospitals.

Over the last two decades hospitals have been cutting back on the number of nurses they keep on staff in order to save money.   A growing body of evidence shows that inadequate nurse staffing leads to thousands of preventable deaths and injuries in hospitals. JCAHO (the hospital industry's accrediting agency) issued a report confirming that understaffing is a contributing factor in 24 percent of all accidental patient deaths and injuries in our nation's hospitals.  Another study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found that inadequate nurse-to-patient ratios puts patients at risk and that for each additional patient above four in a registered nurse's care, the risk of patients dying increases 7 percent.

To make matters worse, many understaffed hospitals mandate nurses work back-to-back eight hours shifts or four additional hours on top of their 12-hour shifts to fill these gaps in staffing.  When exhausted nurses are forced to work additional hours beyond their shift, the risk of medical errors occurring greatly increases and patient safety is threatened.  There is no way an exhausted, overworked nurse is as alert and accurate as a well-rested nurse working during their regular shift. The law already restricts the working hours of pilots, truck drivers, flight attendants, and others whose performance affects public safety.  Why, then don't they provide the same safety for hospital patients?

Furthermore, inadequate staffing levels and the mandating of overtime are driving many nurses away from our state's hospitals and the nursing profession entirely.  In fact, only 1.3 million of our nation's 2.7 million licensed nurses are working in hospitals today. They are no longer willing to work in situations where they are overloaded and unable to provide the best possible care for their patients.

The health care industry's short-term and shortsighted answer of understaffing and mandating overtime to balance their books puts patients in harm's way and chases away caregivers.  Setting reasonable staffing levels and limiting mandatory overtime is an immediate step that our State can make to improve the quality of care and make our hospitals more appealing places to work.

Based upon the above, I urge you to support Representative Wojno's House Bill 4339 and Senator Patterson's Senate Bill 63.  This proposed legislation provides a real solution to the patient safety crisis in Michigan. Thank you for your attention to this critically important issue.  I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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