To: Mark Warner

From: Ellie Longest

October 12th, 2018
Subject: S. 1063 Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2017

Nurse staffing ratios in the hospital are dangerous. Patients are not able to get the quality of care they
deserve because nurses are having to take care of more patients than they are adequately capable of. A
new bill has been introduced to help stop this dilemma occurring that will help us improve our nurse to
patient ratios. This bill is known as S. 1063 the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and
Quality Care Act of 2017, which I am in full support of. This bill requires hospitals to submit a staffing
plan to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is compliant with safe nurse to patient
ratios by hospital unit. The bill also allows the nurses to use their best judgement and gives them the
option to refuse an assignment if it compromises patient safety or puts their license at risk, without having
the hospital take action against the.

When nurses are forced to take on a larger patient workload than they should, they are not able to take
care of patients like they should. Not only do the nurses feel the burden of this load, but the patient’s as
well. Patient’s do not feel comfortable asking the nurse for the help they need when they see the
overworked nurse. They also feel like they are being neglected and their needs are not being met. As
nurses taking on too many patients, they are unable to make sufficient time for the patient and instead are
running in and out of rooms as quick as possible to get to the next patient that needs help.

 A shortage of nurse staffing is linked to higher rates of patient falls, infections,

medication errors, and even death. Fewer nurses work longer hours and care for sicker
patients. This is compromising care of patients and contributing to the nursing shortage,
making nurses reluctant to work from the bedside (Carlson, 2017).
 Every one additional patient added to a hospital staff nurse’s workload is associated with
a seven percent increase in hospital mortality. A 2008 study by the Centers of Medicare
and Medicaid Services found facilities with staffing levels in the bottom 30 percent were
more likely to be among the worse 10 percent of facilities for heart failure, electrolyte
imbalances, sepsis, respiratory infection and urinary tract infections (Department for
Professional Employees, 2016).

Recommendation: Vote to pass S. 1063 Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality
Care of Act of 2017. As you can see, when nurses are given more patients than they can adequately
handle the outcomes can be detrimental to the patient. It is not fair that our patients do not always feel
safe while being in the hospital because they are not getting the quality of care they deserve. I recommend
that each nurse is staffed accordingly not only to having a certain amount of patient’s, but also by acuity.
Lastly, I recommend that staffing for nurses is looked at unit to unit.

As nurses we are here to help our patients and make them feel as if they are in a safe place. If we are able
to be staffed accurately patient’s will receive the quality of care they deserve.
 References

Carlson, K. (2017). Nurse-patient ratios and safe staffing: 10 ways nurses can lead the change. Retrieved
from https://nurse.org/articles/nurse-patient-ratios-and-safe-staffing/

Department for Professional Employees (2016). Safe-staffing ratios: Benefiting nurses and patients.
Retrieved from https://dpeaflcio.org/programs-publications/issue-fact-sheets/safe-staffing-ratios-
benefiting-nurses-and-patients/
Elevator Pitch: A bill known as S. 1063 the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and
Quality Care Act of 2017, is a bill I am in support of. This bill requires hospitals to submit a staffing plan
to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is compliant with safe nurse to patient ratios
by hospital unit. The bill also allows the nurses to use their best judgement and gives them the option to
refuse an assignment if it compromises patient safety or puts their license at risk, without having the
hospital take action against the. When nurses have more patients than they can adequately handle, it
creates an unsafe environment for not only the nurse but the patient as well. If nurses have a safe nurse to
patient ratio, it will create better quality outcomes for the patient overall.