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Safe Staffing through Nurse-to-Patient Ratios

Tens of thousands of preventable patient deaths occur due to low nurse staffing levels in hospitals. Ensuring enough direct care nurses are by patients' bedsides would drastically improve patient care. The California Nurses Association (CNA/NNOC) succeeded in winning legislation that sets minimum nurse-to-patient ratios for all of California's hospitals, creating improvements in the quality of care and in recruiting and retaining nurses. Here in Pennsylvania, PASNAP is fighting to win similar legislation (see below).

Facts about Nurse-to-Patient Ratios (click to download)

Ratios Improve Patient Care

Ratios Help Solve the Nursing Shortage

Ratios Create Savings for Hospitals

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Winning Nurse-to-Patient Ratios in Pennsylvania

A bill has been proposed in Pennsylvania's House of Representatives (HB 171-Solobay) that would establish minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. Implementation and enforcement would be overseen by the Department of Health. The proposed minimum ratios are in the chart below. Only direct care nurses could be counted in the ratios. Nothing would preclude any facility from implementing higher nurse staffing levels.

Minimum Staffing Requirements of Pennsylvania's Safe Staffing Act

The ratios shown in the box are the minimums that each hospital must follow in its staffing plan and must be adjusted upwards to reflect actual patient acuity. Click here for text of current bill, currently in the Pennsylvania's House of Representatives Health and Human Services Committee.

Type of Unit Minimum Standard
Operating Room
Trauma Emergency Room
1 RN : 1 Patient
All Critical Care areas including:
Emergency Critical Care
Intensive Care
Labor and Delivery
Postanesthesia
1 RN : 2 Patients
Antepartum
Emergency Room
Pediatrics
Step-down
Telemetry
1 RN : 3 Patients
Intermediate Care Nursery
Medical/Surgical
Acute Care Psychiatric
1 RN : 4 Patients
Rehabilitation 1 RN : 5 Patients
Postpartum 1 RN : 6 Patients (3 Couplets)
Well-baby Nursery 1 RN : 6 Patients