02/06/2007

By JENNIFER BYRD  / Associated Press

Hundred of nurses rallied at the Capitol on Monday, supporting a bill that would require Washington hospitals to ease the burden on them by implementing reasonable staffing plans.

"We all know we are reaching a real crisis situation in care," Rep. Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup, told the rally. Nurses and nursing students from around the state filled the Capitol rotunda for the event.

Morrell, who is also a registered nurse, sponsored the measure, which had a hearing before the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

"This really is a nurse retention bill," Morrell said in an interview after the rally.

She noted a recent situation in her unit at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, when the charge nurse told the nurses there was no way they'd get breaks or lunches that shift because of short staffing.

"If you do that once in a while, it's not a problem," Morrell said. But when it's a daily situation, patient safety suffers and young nurses leave the profession, she said.

The measure would require the Department of Health to form an advisory committee to make recommendations on hospital staffing plans. The committee would look at current research and reports on staffing, legislation in other states, the different needs of patients receiving different types of care, and the availability of support staff.

Based on recommendations from the committee, the Health Department would establish minimum staffing requirements, which could be set at different levels depending on the type of care.

The hospitals would then implement their own staffing plans based on meeting the requirements by the beginning of September 2008. Hospitals that violated the requirements would be subject to penalties of $2,500 to $10,000, depending on the number of violations.

Morrell said the measure is more flexible than a California law that requires one nurse for every five patients.

"I want to make it clear that this is not a ratio bill," Morrell said.

Kristen Peterson, director of legal affairs and clinical policy at the Washington State Hospital Association, told the committee hearing that the bill would duplicate existing law and that the Health Department is already working on similar rules.

Lisa Thatcher, a lobbyist for the association, added that each hospital is unique and the state should not mandate what they do.

"We realize we need more nurses and we need to keep nurses," Thatcher said, adding that the association would continue working with nursing unions on staffing issues.

Kathy Sweeney, a registered nurse at Swedish Medical Center's First Hill Campus in Seattle, said staffing has been a problem for all 12 years of her career.

She said in an interview after the rally that she deliberately switched units because she feared for her patients' safety and, consequently, her own license.

"I think staffing is the number one issue for nurses today," Sweeney said. "It never seems to be adequate."

Each care unit sets its own ratio at her hospital, but "the envelope is always being pushed."

And Diane Sosne, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1199NW, said staffing shortages are the leading reason nurses are leaving the bedside in Washington.

"They literally have too many patients," Sosne said after the rally.

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The measure is House Bill 1809.

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On the Net:

Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov