The healthcare sector has had controversial issues that require legal documentation and clarifications. The existence of this gap has led to the formulation of healthcare policies. However, contentious healthcare matters have persisted over the years. The aim of this paper is to review the Safe Staffing for Nurse and Patient Safety Act of 2018 (S. 2446, H.R. 5052) . The bill advocates for the formation of a hospital committee comprising 55% registered nurse to decide on staffing matters (Jones et al., 2018). S. 2446, H.R. 5052 bill will enhance the quality of care and patient’s safety by recommending adequate staffing of nurses.
Summary of the Bill Provisions
S. 2446, H.R. 5052 bill is an active federal regulation that would apply to all hospitals that participate in Medicare and specifies the exact amount of nurses for a particular unit (Jones et al., 2018). S. 2446, H.R. 5052 bill emphasizes that every hospital should form a staff committee comprising 55% of Registered Nurses that offer direct patient care ( Jones et al., 2018). The bill states that the established committee will formulate a staffing plan depending on the acuity of patients and the experiences of staff members. The accomplishments of the act was the protection of patients, improvement of healthcare quality, and empowering registered nurses to drive staffing decisions in the healthcare facilities.
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Background
ANA and Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the bill in the House of Representatives in 2018 because of its clinical and economic values (Livanos, 2018). The bill was shaped by an adequate understanding of the relationship between nurse staffing and the safety of patients. While giving her opinion about the bill in the House, ANA President Karen A. Daley affirmed that the bill would improve the outcomes of patients and save lives because it would ensure appropriate staffing. The bill was also supported by existing publications, which showed that sufficiently staffed registered nurses with experience lowers the falling rates of patients and medication errors.
History
The history of the bill began in 2004 when the state governments started to implement a law that required hospitals to reduce the number of patients. The state recommended that the number of nurses in the hospital should depend on the facility's setting. In early 2018 March, the bill was officially introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate (Livanos, 2018). Representatives David Joyce, Susan DelBne, Susan Bonamici, Tulsi Gabbard, and Senator Jeff Merkley championed the bill (Livanos, 2018). While voting against the bill, the Health and Hospital Association claimed that it is against the human right to care because hospitals would turn away patients based on inefficient nurses. Even though the committee of registered nurses dully voted the bill because it would ensure efficient staffing and shifts, the primary point of concern was in the availability of adequate nurses to serve the entire patient population.
Stakeholders
There are two primary stakeholders of the S. 2446, H.R. 5052 bill. They include the health and hospital association and the registered nurses association. The registered nurses association supports the bill because it enhances their working condition by supporting efficient staffing and shifting patter. On the other hand, the health and hospital association opposes the bill because it limits access to care.
Supporters
The leading supporter of the bill is the registered nurses association. The registered nurses association believe that the bill will improve their working conditions through efficient staffing and effective. Another advantage of the bill according to the association of the nurses’ authority is to make staffing decisions in the hospitals. However, a disadvantage attached to it is that it would drain hospitals a lot of money to employ enough nurses as required by a representative of registered nurses.
Opponents
The health and hospital association majorly opposed the bill. The two parties claimed that the bill will drain them a lot of money. For example, it dictates a fine of $25,000 every day for any hospital facility that fails to comply with the bill. Also, they claimed that besides being forced to send away some patients, other patients will have to wait for long before accessing the emergency department, where the bill is cantered (Sloane et al., 2018). Hence, one of the significant disadvantages of the bill is limiting the patient's access to care.
Impact of the Bill on Nurses
The bill would impacts the nurses positively by improving their working conditions. One of the positive recommendations in the bill is making formation of a hospital committee comprising 55% registered nurses (Driscoll et al., 2018). The proposal means that the bill permits the nurses to make staffing decisions in the hospital, thereby creating an opportunity to adjust the staff. Efficient staffing increases the ability of the nurses to offer safe and quality care (Driscoll et al., 2018). For example, nurses will have more time to spend with the patient and provide timely care whenever needed.
Nurses’ Actions
Nurses have a crucial role in ensuring that the bill passes. Some of the actions they can take include describing and proving the strengths of the bill and educating the public and patients about its importance to gain more support (Baker & Silver, 2018). Nurses can use the bill’s added advantages of enhancing care and safety of patients to entice the patients’ population and the public and win more support.
Conclusion
Too sum up, the S. 2446, H.R. 5052 bill advocates for efficient staffing of nursing to enhance the safety of patients and quality of care. The bill was enacted from ANA and introduced into the House of Representatives in 2018 through the support of ANA and its sponsor, Senator Jeff Merkley. Key stakeholders of the bill are the association of registered nurses and the Health and Hospital Association, who support and oppose it respectively. Improved care quality is one of the advantages of the bill. However, it limits access to care as nurses are limited compared to patents. Nurses can foster the passage of the bill by enhancing public awareness about its advantages to gain more supporters.
References
Baker, T., & Silver, C. (2018). How Liability Insurers Protect Patients and Improve Safety. DePaul L. Rev. , 68 , 209.
Driscoll, A., Grant, M. J., Carroll, D., Dalton, S., Deaton, C., Jones, I., & Astin, F. (2018). The effect of nurse-to-patient ratios on nurse-sensitive patient outcomes in acute specialist units: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing , 17 (1), 6-22.Livanos, N. (2018). A broadening coalition: Patient safety enters the Nurse-to-Patient ratio debate. Journal of Nursing Regulation , 9 (1), 68-70.
Jones, A., Whyley, H., Doyle, J., & Bevan, L. (2018). Development of approaches and legislation to optimize nurse staling levels. Nursing Standard , 33 (5).
Livanos, N. (2018). A broadening coalition: Patient safety enters the Nurse-to-Patient ratio debate. Journal of Nursing Regulation , 9 (1), 68-70.
Sloane, D. M., Smith, H. L., McHugh, M. D., & Aiken, L. H. (2018). Effect of changes in hospital nursing resources on improvements in patient safety and quality of care: a panel study. Medical care , 56 (12), 1001.
