National Nurses United

NATIONAL N ational nurses united (NNU) applauded the introduction of the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hos- pital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act, a federal bill that would set spe- cific safety limits on the numbers of patients each RN can care for in hospitals through- out the United States. The bill, introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) during Nurses Week in May, comes as NNU has been holding virtual ral- lies, shift-change actions, and other coordinated measures to pressure hospital administrators to provide safe staffing before, during, and moving forward from the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. The federal legislation would establish mini- mum RN-to-patient ratios for every hospi- tal unit, effective at all times. The bill also provides whistle-blower protection to ensure that nurses are free to speak out for enforce- ment of safe staffing standards. The legislation offers a remedy to the decades-long, industry-wide, routine prac- tice of forcing RNs to care for too many patients at one time. Higher patient assign- ments have been linked to a higher risk of preventable medical errors, avoidable com- plications, falls and injuries, pressure sores, increased length of stay, readmissions, and higher death rates. In addition to issues with patient care, unsafe staffing levels contribute to higher RN burnout rates and job dissatisfaction. "Safe staffing levels are critically impor- tant to ensure patients are properly and safely taken care of at a health care facility," said Jean Ross, RN and an NNU president. "Evidence has demonstrated that RN staffing ratios prevent avoidable infections, injuries, and deaths. For this reason, the Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act is critical legislation, and nurses across the country urge every member of Congress to support this bill." The federal bill is mirrored after a Cali- fornia law, fought for and won in 1999 by the California Nurses Association/NNU. The law, which took effect in 2004, has saved patient lives, improved the quality of care, attracted nurses back to direct-care nursing, and reduced nurse burnout, keep- ing experienced RNs at the patient bedside. "Nurses worked long hours, doing vital work in our health care system, even before this once-in-a-generation pandemic," Sen. Brown said. "They have been on the frontlines of this crisis for more than a year now, and they NATIONAL A s part of Nurses Week, National Nurses United released a series of animated shorts, developed in col- laboration with award-winning artist Molly Crabapple and media produc- tion company Sharp as Knives, that explore the nature of nurses' work and help recon- cile their role as one of the most publicly respected professions with how poorly they are treated by their employers and the gov- ernment. "The Deadly Shame" series consists of three episodes that illustrate how the pandemic exposed the devaluation of nurses' care work by employers and elected officials who put profits before patients and workers, and how reversing this dynamic requires nurse organizing and solidarity. The videos can be viewed on National Nurses United's (NNU) website (www.nationalnursesunited.org/deadly- shame-animated-shorts) and Facebook page. "This series is a magnificent piece of work, both visually stunning and evocative, which clearly describes the systemic failures that devalue both nurses and patients in our cur- rent dysfunctional health care industry," said Cathy Kennedy, RN and president of Califor- nia Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC) and vice-president of NNU. "If you really want to understand nursing and what we nurses expe- rience, you have to watch these films. While nurses are lauded as 'heroes' and honored with tributes, our employers continue to treat us as expendable. Through this powerful medium, we are able to share our frustrations, disap- pointments, anger, and loss while encouraging the collective action nurses must take to fight back for the well-being of all our patients." Each animated short is narrated by a nurse leader who is providing care through- out the pandemic and who has fought for years for nurse and patient safety. "It is unconscionable that more than 400 nurses lost their lives in this pandemic because while nurses were committed to protecting their communities, their employ- ers were not committed to protecting them," said Zenei Triunfo-Cortez, RN and also a president of CNA/NNOC and NNU. "We know that the only way we are going to get what we need to stay safe in our hospitals and to push the government to act is by coming together and using our power and our voices to make the change we need for our patients and ourselves." Episode 1, "Deadly Shame: Care Penalty," focuses on how employers, lawmakers, and society at large have systematically devalued care work, labor that nurtures life for human beings and society. As nursing is his- torically characterized as "women's work," nurses pay a "care penalty," resulting in unfair wages and unsafe working conditions that threaten their very lives. Federal safe staffing ratios bill introduced NNU premieres animated series on RNs' work and power during the pandemic NEWS BRIEFS 6 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 2 1

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