American Nurses Association applauds LaTourette-Capps bill
Thursday, July 08, 2010
U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) today announced that the
American Nurses Association (ANA) is backing a safe nursing bill he
recently introduced with U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA).
LaTourette and Capps are founders and co-chairs of the House
Nursing Caucus, and authors of the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing
Act of 2010, H.R. 5527. There is also a Senate companion
bill, S. 3491; the ANA worked with the legislators to address
nursing staffing concerns.
"We won't stop advocating on this issue until federal
legislation is enacted to increase protections for patients and
ensure fair working conditions for nurses," said ANA President
Karen Daley. "We know that nurses across the country are
deeply concerned about unsafe staffing because it puts patients at
risk, as well as puts nurses' careers on the line. Nurses observe
all the time how insufficient nurse staffing diminishes the quality
of care for patients."
The LaTourette-Capps bill will require hospitals that
participate in Medicare to establish committees that would create
unit-by-unit nurse staffing plans based on several factors,
including the number of patients on a unit, severity of their
conditions, experience and skill level of the RNs and availability
of support staff.
The safe staffing bill would require hospitals to publicly
report nurse staffing plans for each unit, and would place limits
on the practice of "floating" nurses by ensuring that RNs are not
forced to work on units if they lack the education and experience
in that specialty. The ANA says seven states have already
passed nurse safe staffing legislation that closely resembles
LaTourette-Capps bill, including Ohio.
LaTourette said backing from the ANA is vital in any nursing
legislation.
"Having the ANA on your side is like having the Good
Housekeeping Seal of Approval," LaTourette said. "I'm thrilled
they're supportive of our bill."
The ANA is the nation's largest nursing organization, and serves
as an advocate for the nation's 3.1 million registered nurses.