Ohio Nurses the Latest to Push for Increased Staffing

• Several Ohio nurses recently spoke in favor of House bill 285, which would require medical facilities to meet specific nurse-to-patient ratios.
• Ohio nurses are the latest in a long line of practitioners and legislators who have been pushing for minimum staffing standards nationwide.
• Supporters believe the legislative fix would help with turnover, while opponents contend staffing mandtes would reduce flexibility and further stress the healthcare system.

 Ohio nurses believe that passing legislation to establish minimum staffing requirements is a way to “hold executives accountable,” according to Rick Lucas, the state nursing association’s president.

“They establish a baseline for patient safety while allowing hospitals to flex staffing up based on patient acuity and census,” Lucas told lawmakers. “Without enforceable standards, hospitals face no obligation to address the persistent issues documented by Ohio’s nurses.”

Lucas was among several nurses who spoke in support of House Bill 285 (H.B. 285) during a House Health Provider Serivces Committee hearing last week. The measure, introduced by Reps. Haraz Ghanbari and Elgin Rogers Jr., would require medical facilities to meet specific nurse-to-patient ratios and permit the director of health to issue fines for those who don’t comply, among other directives.

WBNS, a CBS affiliate, reported that if the measure isn’t passed this legislative session, supporters would revisit the issue in 2025. 

Ohio’s practitioners are the latest in a long line of nurses and legislators who have been pushing for staffing ratio increases nationwide. Many proponents argue that doing so would alleviate stress on current staff and help with turnover, among other benefits. 

Hospital Culture ‘Needs to Change’

More than 90% of nurses who responded to an Ohio Nursing Association survey stated they would support a bill that included minimum staffing standards for hospitals.” More than 60% of direct care nurses who responded indicated that they were considering leaving the bedside “due to current conditions” and had experienced workplace violence in the past year.

The family of Tristin Kate Smith, a nurse who died by suicide last August, spoke in favor of the bill.

“We are heartbroken,” Ron Smith told the committee. “The culture in hospitals needs to change, and it starts with H.B. 285. I’m tired of hearing about families going through what we are going through.” 

An investigation into suicide rates among healthcare workers found a higher risk for those in the field compared to those not in healthcare.

However, the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA), Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and Ohio Business Roundtable have come out against the measure.

“Mandated approaches to nurse staffing limit innovation, reduce the flexibility needed to respond to patients’ changing care needs and increase stress on a health care system already facing an escalating workforce shortage,” the OHA said in a statement provided to the Dayton Daily News in April.

The groups also submitted opposition testimony to the committee, arguing that staffing mandates would threaten access to care, WBNS reported

From a national perspective, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership has argued that staffing mandates “remove real-time clinical judgment and flexibility from nurses.” 

Ohio Nurses Aren’t Alone. What Have Other States Done?

If the Ohio measure becomes law, it would follow Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, and California. The Golden State was the first to impose minimum staffing requirements, having done so in 2004.  

Other initiatives have been more grassroots, occurring at individual hospitals. In Hawaii, for example, nurses at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children initiated a strike that ultimately resulted in “the first contractually enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios in Hawaii history.”

The Bottom Line

Staffing concerns have been an issue in the nursing industry for years — well before the COVID-19 pandemic thrust them into the spotlight. But Ohio is one of several states still fighting for minimum staffing standards and nurse-to-patient ratios. Supporters believe a legislative fix would help with turnover, burnout, and morale, while detractors contend that mandates reduce flexibility and add stress to healthcare systems. 

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