Raising Standards for Patients flyer 2021-1-1
Nurse Alliance of SEIU California (NA of CA) is your professional organization; consisting of 35,000 Registered Nurses from Locals across the state. Our members work in both public and private healthcare settings, from community based public health and acute care to corrections, mental health and homeless outreach. We are advocates united to improve healthcare and the profession of nursing through education, empowerment, and action. Beyond our practice, we believe that union membership is the key to a strong middle class and economy, but there cannot be economic justice until there is racial justice. As leaders, we are addressing the threat of climate change and supporting disaster relief efforts. As union nurses, we are committed to nurturing and caring for our global community.
As registered nurses, it’s our responsibility to protect our patients and our licenses by following California’s Title 22 regulations.
Right now this isn’t easy because Governor Newsom has issued an Executive Order AFL-20-26.
Pursuant to the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency related to COVID-19, the Director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has waived the licensing requirements of Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code (HSC) and accompanying regulations with respect to any hospital or health facility identified in HSC section 1250. CDPH is temporarily waiving licensing requirements and suspending regulatory enforcement of all licensing requirements (this includes, Title 22, nurse-to-patient staffing ratios) for hospitals with a few exceptions. As a result of this temporary waiver, hospitals do not need to submit individual program flexibility requests. This waiver is valid until June 30, 2020 and may be extended based on any updated Executive Orders or guidance from CMS or the CDC.
We are still recommending that nursing staff file Patient Safety Reporting Forms (ADO) when asked to take a patient assignment that violates the ratio law or unsafe assignment and submit them to your union steward or representative. Our employers are still required to comply with adverse event and unusual occurrence reporting requirements and report any substantial staffing or supply shortages that jeopardizes patient care/safety or disrupts operations.
As nurses, we know that if it wasn’t “charted” it didn’t happen, so continue to file complaints. Don’t give our employers the excuse that nothing “bad” happened while we were out of ratio, so maybe we don’t even need them. We also know that when needed we step up and get the job done! So using your professional judgement, report any near misses or other patient safety concerns during this time of crisis. Because our patients’ lives matter no matter what.
If you want to know what we’re about, just click on the link below!
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Terry Carter
February 7, 2019 (805) 312-0024 http://www.seiu121rn.org/
Patients suffer when hospitals break the law.
Determined, Senator Connie M. Leyva reintroduces a bill to improve hospital patient safety.
Sacramento, CA—Today, State Senator Connie M. Leyva (D–Chino) introduced SB 227, co-sponsored by SEIU Local 121RN, SEIU California State Council and United Nurses Associations of California / Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC / UHCP). Like last year’s SB 1288, this year’s bill will mandate unannounced inspections of hospitals with a special focus on adherence to California’s nurse-to-patient ratios as regulated by Title 22. This bill will also levy penalties on hospitals that continue to disregard these regulations.
“In our rapidly changing healthcare world, California’s Nurses continue to make patient safety our number one priority, both in our contracts with area hospitals and in these efforts to create a strong enforcement mechanism for existing state regulations,” said SEIU Local 121RN President Gayle Batiste, RN, CNOR at Northridge Hospital Medical Center. “Nurses are determined to ensure California no longer tolerates the flimsy enforcement that has emboldened hospitals to view Title 22 regulations as ‘recommendations’ or ‘guidelines.’ They are not recommendations. They are bare minimums.”
RNs—who referred to SB 1288 last year as the “Stop Repeat Offender Hospitals” bill—say they’re more committed than ever to push against the false narrative and aggressive lobbying that hospital administrators engaged in last year to promote the myth that our hospitals don’t experience unsafe staffing levels.
Currently…
• California leads the nation with its groundbreaking regulations protecting patients and Registered Nurses—but, the enforcement of those regulations is virtually nonexistent, rendering them meaningless in too many hospitals.
• Unlike other healthcare settings, such as long-term care facilities, hospitals face no financial penalties for violations of staffing ratios.
• A penalty only kicks in when it’s too late: when there’s a violation that caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury or death to a patient.
• If there is no serious injury or death, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) simply requests that hospitals submit a “plan of correction” (which many hospitals copy/paste from their last submitted plan).
• CDPH testified in 2013 that it does not routinely follow up on hospitals’ plans of corrections.
• Nurse-to-patient ratio laws have gone two decades without any enforcement mechanism to curb repeat offenders.
It’s time to ensure that a person doesn’t have to die before a fine is imposed.
“SB 227 will help to improve patient health and safety by ensuring hospitals in California comply with legally mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios,” said Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino). “The stakes for patients are very high and, in order to protect them, CDPH must fully enforce existing law. I thank SEIU California, SEIU Local 121RN and UNAC / UHCP for jointly sponsoring SB 227 and working with me to help protect patients.”
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Service Employees International Union, Local 121RN represents nearly 9,000 registered nurses and other healthcare professionals at 27 hospitals and facilities in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. This member-led organization is committed to supporting optimum working conditions that allow nurses to provide quality patient care and safety.
