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12 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 M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 1 6 NEWS BRIEFS MINNESOTA R egistered nurse members of the Minnesota Nurses Association reported more than 2,700 inci- dents of unsafe staffing in 2015, according to a report released on March 15 and shared with legislators and state offi- cials at an action during the union's annual Day on the Hill. The study analyzed unsafe staffing inci- dents reported by nurses on MNA's Concern for Safe Staffing forms (CFSS). Nurses file the forms when they experience unsafe staffing incidents on their shifts. The "Concern for Safe Staffing Form Annual Report 2015" found nurses reported 2,741 incidents of unsafe staffing in Minnesota hospitals in 2015, an increase of 32.93 percent over 2014. The reports document substandard patient care, such as delays in treatments or medications, inability to answer call lights, and incomplete discharges or assessments. In many cases, a patient was lying in a hospital bed waiting for help, but nursing staff already had too many other patients to respond. "Minnesota nurses have serious concerns regarding their patients' safety and quality of care," according to the report. "Too often, those responsible for staffing decisions respond to nurses' concerns in ways that are unreasonable and even frightening. In ignoring nurse concerns for safe staffing, administrators ignore the weight of academ- ic research demonstrating that when nurses work short staffed, patients suffer." "The rapid rise in CFSS forms shows that the professional judgment of the nurse isn't being taken seriously," said Carrie Mortrud, RN, and one of the report's authors. "Nurses are alerting hospital management to a seri- ous situation that could have a tragic impact on patient safety and care, but the staffing decisions that cause the situation remain." Mortrud and co-author Mathew Keller, RN, compiled and analyzed CFSS forms from both years and noted that some cate- gories of consequences to patients showed disproportionately greater increases. The three biggest gains came in the categories of "unit short-staffed 25 percent or greater than what is needed," with an 86 percent increase; "closed unit" to new admissions due to unsafe staffing levels went up 75 percent; and patients receiving "incomplete discharge instruction" increased by 72 percent over the past year. "It's evident that hospitals are cutting costs with staff," Keller said. "Fewer staff means more dollars for the hospitals that already pocketed $600 million more income after expenditures last year. The patient has to pay the same, regardless if the nurse is juggling two other patients or six." "Nurses always continue to smile and care for their patients the best they can," Mortrud said. "But that care has been and will continue to suffer until there are quality patient care standards that address staffing." Read the full report at http:// mnnurses.org/ issues-advocacy/ issues/ concern-safe-staffing-report-2015/. —Barb Brady New report documents record number of unsafe staffing incidents