Forbes June 27, 2023
Earlier this month, New York announced a new rule requiring at least one nurse to be assigned to every two patients in critical care units (CCU) at all of the state’s hospitals. This is part of a greater movement gaining steam in state legislatures to mandate nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in hospitals. Backed by their unions, nurses are committed to addressing problems of understaffing and associated burnout while advocating for safer working conditions and increased pay/benefits. Their advocacy is noteworthy, but legislative fiat and increased regulation will not address the long-standing problems plaguing an industry that has refused to change.
In 1999, California became the first state to require “specific numerical nurse-to-patient ratios for acute care, acute psychiatric, and specialty hospitals.”...
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