Exam (elaborations) NR 506 Policymaker Electronic Presentation Patient Safety; Safe Staffing

Exam (elaborations) NR 506 Policymaker Electronic Presentation Patient Safety; Safe Staffing Importance of Nurse Staffing Planning a Policymaker Visit Outcomes and Goals Follow Up & Future Opportunities Concluding statements Introduction  Healthcare Policies define how healthcare facilities are run  There are many policies that are outdated  The nurse to patient ratio in most states is too high and needs to be ratified  Nurse to patient ratios are often 1:7 or 1:8  High ratios results in higher workload for nurses which lead to medical errors  Policymakers need to be aware of the dangers of high nurse to patient ratios to allow them to change the current policy  Hospital administrators and managers oppose a lower nurse to patient ratios due to the increase in cost Importance of Nurse Staffing  A high nurse to patient ratio increases the risk for medication and medical errors, infections, falls, and fatigue  Nurses are the healthcare providers that have the most contact with patients, and therefore will have a significant impact on them Empirical Evidence Evidence-based research supports the theory that the nurse to patient ratio has a direct impact on patient safety Assembly bill 394, a nurse staffing bill passed in California, reduced the mandatory patio ratio to 1:5 in med/surg units and 1:4 in the Emergency Department There is sufficient evidence to allow policymakers to lower the nurse to patient ratio Coalitions Coalitions have the power to influence politicians NYSNA (New York State National Nurses Association) and NNU (National Nurses United) are two coalitions fighting for a policy change similar to the one made in California NYSNA has initiated a campaign called Safe Staffing NYSNA protests for nurses all around New York state including in Albany, the center for NY state legislation Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act Aka bill A6571 Bill proposed by Assemblyman Gottfried to set a mandatory nurse to patient ratio in New York Proposed in 2013 There are many politicians who have supported this bill but yet to be passed Planning a Policymaker Visit Senator Andrew Lanza is a New York State Senator from the 24th senate district in Staten Island Senator Lanza’s website has provided me with his contact information, including his email address I sent Senator Lanza an email asking him to support the safe staffing for quality care act, as well as ask him to meet to discuss this issue further Policymaker Visit Senator Lanza’s team responded with a phone call Anthony stated that Senator Lanza supports nurse staffing A discussion over the phone took place between me and Anthony During the discussion I listed key points on the issue of safe staffing Anthony ultimately agreed with my rationale and said Senator Lanza plans on supporting bill A6571 Future Opportunities Follow-up call to Senator Lanza is necessary to ensure he keeps his word This experience can be used to reach out to other policymakers This template can now be used to reach out to other policymakers in NY to ask them to support the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act Outcomes and Goals Goal is to have a policy change Proposed bill A6571 is a positive sign that a change is eminent Bill A6571, the safe staffing for quality care act, has been proposed, now it just needs to be passed The more politicians support this bill the more likely it will be passed Solutions The only solution is a policy change similar to the one made in California A nurse to patient ratio of 1:4 or 1:5 is the only acceptable ratio Politicians can support the bills already in Congress Additional bills can be proposed to support lower nurse staffing ratios Summary There are many different healthcare policies, some of which need to be ratified The nurse to patient ratio is one policy in particular that needs to change Ratios in most states, including NY, are 1:7 or 1:8 There is sufficient evidence that supports the idea of a lower nurse to patio ratio The Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act is a bill proposed to set a minimum nurse to patient ratio Coalitions, such as NYSNA and NNU, have the power to influence change Summary I have contacted Senator Lanza, one of the Senators in NY, asking him to support the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act I expect Senator Lanza to support the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act I can now use this experience to ask other policymakers to support this bill The only acceptable outcome is a policy change that lowers the nurse to patient ratio References  Kitchenman. (2015). Nurses urge state to increase mandated staffing levels at hospitals. NJ Spotlight.  Speaker Heastie, C. (2015). A06571 Summary. New York State Assembly. d=&bn=A06571&term=2013&Summary=Y&Acti ons=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y  National Nurses United. National Campaign for Safe RN-to-Patient Staffing Ratios.