National Nurses United

J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 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 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 9 MINNESOTA N o health system can function without nurses. Nurses are the most significant part of the health workforce, at the front line deliv- ering direct patient care. Yet nurses are the favorite target for hospitals and care facili- ties to cut costs. These cuts, however, come at the expense of patient and nurse safety. Nurses across Minnesota are reporting unsafe staffing, being pushed to sacrifice their patients' care, risking prescription errors, hospital-acquired infections, and patient deaths, as well as having their ideals destroyed and developing moral distress as a result of missing patient care. Inadequate nurse staffing affects every- one: patients, nurses, and the hospitals. When nurses work for an extended shift, there is a greater risk for errors. A high nurse-to-patient ratio is directly responsible for moral distress, poor patient outcomes, and job dissatisfaction among nurses. A safe nurse-to-patient ratio is proven to reduce the patient mortality rate by more than 50 percent. The impact of nurse-to- patient ratios on patient mortality was studied by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. With each additional patient allocated to a nurse, they discovered a 7 per- cent increase in the likelihood of death within 30 days of admission, as well as a 7 percent increase in failure-to-rescue incidents. The researchers found that hospitals with a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:6 had 2.3 more fatalities per 1,000 patients than hospitals with a ratio of 1:4, and 8.7 more deaths per 1,000 patients with problems. Furthermore, if the ratios had been 1:4 across the board, hospitals would have saved about 1,000 lives. Another study by Harvard School of Pub- lic Health researchers explored the correlation between patient outcomes and nursing care. The study analyzed administra- tive data from five million medical patient discharges from 799 hospitals in 11 states. The researchers concluded that more hours of nursing care per day were associated with lower rates of urinary tract infections, cardiac arrest, pneumonia, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, failure-to-rescue, and shock, as well as shorter hospital stays. In Minnesota, nurses have been on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic, pro- viding direct treatment to patients in close contact. We nurses are continu- ously exposed to the virus because of our employ- ment and are at a high risk of contracting Covid-19. According to data, nurses are also likely to get infected with Covid-19 at a high rate. While nurses maintain their ethical obligation to care for the community during a pandemic, they are also experiencing high levels of stress, physi- cal injuries, and moral distress due to inadequate staffing. Is it due to higher costs that hospitals are unable to hire enough nurses? The Covid-19 pandemic certainly doesn't appear to have had an effect on CEO pay. According to data from the Minnesota attorney general's office, hospital executives and CEOs earned mil- lions of dollars during the pandemic. Fairview Health Services' president and CEO, James Hereford, received $3.6 million in compensation, a 91 percent increase. Gianrico Farrugia, president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic, was paid $2.8 million. Other hospitals are following a similar pattern. Minnesota has received a total of $2.8 billion in direct funding from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan, plus billions more in program-specific funds. The Minnesota Legislature has approved $200 million in health care fund- ing to help with the costs of planning, preparing for, and responding to the Covid- 19 outbreak. In addition, Gov. Tim Walz has approved $50 million in hiring and reten- tion awards in the healthcare industry. There is enough money to go around. How- ever, the money isn't being utilized to hire and retain nurses; instead, it's being used to pay bonuses to the presidents and CEOs. The pandemic's impact on the state of Minnesota has brought the realities of our existing nursing shortage to light. Hospitals and health care organizations can avoid needless patient mortality and improve nurse turnover by investing in proper staffing. Now, more than ever, we need a safe patient standard, such as National Nurses United's federal safe staffing bill. The Minnesota Nurses Association is now collaborating with other unions and organizations to adopt a safe patient stan- dard policy or a safe nurse-to-patient ratio for all hospitals, ensuring that every patient, regardless of age, color, gender, or income, receives safe and high-quality care. —Priyanka Roy, RN Pandemic is fueling Minnesota RNs' ongoing fight for safe staffing References Callaghan, P. (2021). The Minnesota Legislature approved $250 million for pandemic worker bonuses. Should the state give away more than that? MINNPOST. https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2021/08/the-minnesota-legislature-approved- 250-million-for-pandemic-worker-bonuses-should-the-state-give-away-more-than-that/ Kennedy, P. (2021). The 25th annual Star Tribune list of largest nonprofits in Minnesota. https:// www.startribune.com/minnesota-top-nonprof its/600006951/ Kuwata, K. (2017). Spread too thin: The case for federally mandated minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals. Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, 49(3), 635–659. Martin, C. J. (2015). The Effects of nurse staffing on quality of care. Medsug Nursing, 24(2), 4–6. Minnesota Department of Health. Covid–19 Response Funding. https://www.health.state.mn.us/facilities/ruralhealth/funding/grants/covidgrant.html Minnesota Nurses Association. Virtual Week on the Hill. https://mnnurses.org/events/?eventID=3090

• Cover