New Study Shows Our Nurse-Patient Ratio Law is Saving Lives
In 2004, we won the California nurse-patient staffing ratio law, happily concluding many years of hard struggle for SEIU RN members.
Now a new study released from Health Services Research shows the law is having a dramatic effec
t on our society, is preventing the deaths of thousands of people, and has improved nurse retention in California.
Although the law is not yet national, 13 other states and the District of Colombia have followed us and enacted their own legislation, meaning our efforts have probably saved the lives of thousands more around the country.
“We can all be proud, this study clearly shows the dramatic impact that nurse citizens can have,” said Local 1021 RN Lorraine Thiebaud (pictured right).
The principal findings of the study were as follows (taken from the brief summary at
the Health Services Research website):
- California hospital nurses cared for one less patient on average than nurses in the other states and two fewer patients on medical and surgical units.
- Lower ratios are associated with significantly lower mortality.
- When nurses' workloads were in line with California-mandated ratios in all three states, nurses' burnout and job dissatisfaction were lower, and nurses reported consistently better quality of care.
Download the entire study by clicking the following link:
HSR California Nurse Staffing Study