I am writing this in support of Senate Bill 336: Providing for the compilation of daily nursing staff reports by hospitals, for public posting of reports and for reporting to the Department of Health; and imposing duties on the Department of Health.

Nurse-to-patient staffing ratios are a topic of concern for the safety and quality of care patients receives, which in turn effects patient satisfaction scores, reimbursement and the retention of qualified nurses.

Although health care providers practice under the oath of nonmaleficence — to cause no harm and beneficence, to act in a way to benefit patients — laws have not been determined to support these ethical principles.

Minimal staffing of nurses creates a situation that compromises care and contributes to the nursing shortage that drives nurses from the bedside. Nurse turnover from job dissatisfaction and burnout is expensive, causing facilities to rehire and reorient nurses. Inappropriate staffing ratios create a greater risk for errors, leaving nurses to face potential liability and possible loss of their license.

The Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses released a position statement on safe staffing and on-call practices, delineating staffing should promote quality outcomes, based on patient acuity and nursing workload, while managing cost-effective and efficient staffing without compromising patient safety and outcomes.

The American Nurses Association states regarding patient safety: the rights of a registered nurse when considering a patient assignment: the nurse has the professional right to accept, reject or object in writing any patient assignment that puts the patients or themselves at serious risk of harm.

Without laws or regulations to monitor these staffing ratios, organizations are not held responsible for nurse assignments based on patient volume and acuity. The unidentified and unmonitored nurse-patient staff ratios are left to the discretion of the facilities, often times where budgetary limitations guide decisions, rather than optimal patient care.