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05.13.2004
More than 1,000 Nurses and Health Care Advocates
Flood Massachusetts State House to Call for Vote on H.1282, A Bill
To Set Minimum RN-to-Patient Ratios
More than 1,000 registered nurses, former patients
and advocates for patient safety flooded the State House in Boston
on May 11th, marking National Nurses Week with a demonstration calling
for passage of legislation, H. 1282, that would set state minimum
RN-to-patient ratios in all Massachusetts acute care hospitals.
Clad in aqua blue T-shirts, the sea of nurses overflowed
historic Nurses' Hall, with nurses lining staircases and the balconies
surrounding the area of the State House named to honor nurses who
served in the Civil War. The boisterous crowd rocked the halls of
the State House with chants of "Our Patients Deserve a Vote,"
and "Safe Staffing Now," a message from those on the front-lines
of the health care system that, in the words of MNA’s president
Karen Higgins, "The time has come to protect patients and pass
this legislation."
The event, which was hosted by the Coalition to
Protect Massachusetts Patients, an alliance of 65 leading health
care and consumer groups, was designed to move the bill out of the
House Ways and Means Committee onto the floor of the House for a
vote.
Among those speaking at the rally were former patients
who detailed their experiences in understaffed hospital environments.
Richard Ferri, a nurse practitioner and editor of two medical journals
was one of those patients. He told of poor care he received for
treatment of a collapsed lung and other ailments at three different
hospitals. "These three hospitals had one thing in common,
the care in each one was deplorable; and it was caused by my nurses
having too many other patients to care for. It was so bad, after
suffering a collapsed lung I found myself having to provide my own
care, including my own suctioning, respiratory therapy and pain
management, because I couldn’t count on it being done by my
nurses; not because they were bad nurses, they were great nurses,
they were just overwhelmed with too many patients," Ferri told
the crowd.
Paula Zingarelli of Boston was on hand to present
a letter she had written to her legislator about the issue. It told
of her years as a medical assistant caring for patients in hospitals,
and finding too many of them writhing in pain "because their
nurse never got them their medicines on time." She also told
of the care her mother received, being neglected for hours, causing
Zingarelli to stay with her all night long during her stays to make
sure she was safe. And finally, Zingarelli told of her own decision
to hire around the clock private duty nurses, spending $3,000 out
of her own money because she couldn't trust the hospital where she
stayed to provide the care she knew she would need. "No one
should ever do what I had to do to make sure they are safe in a
hospital," she stated.
And Isaac BenEzra, a former patient and president
of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, spoke on behalf of the
thousands of seniors his organization represents, who are fighting
for passage of the bill. “We have been called the greatest
generation, we have raised you all, we have built this country,
and it is obscene that we are treated with such little respect and
with such disdain by the hospital industry, who won’t provide
us with the most basic care when we need it most. It is just obscene
what the hospital industry is doing to seniors in our hospitals."
The legislation, which was filed by the Massachusetts
Nurses Association, is co-sponsored by 102 out of 200 members of
the Legislature. It would set minimum RN-to-patient ratios for all
units and departments in Massachusetts hospitals as a condition
of licensure by the Department of Public Health. The quality and
safety of patient care in Massachusetts hospitals, according to
a recent report by the DPH, has been deteriorating over the last
seven years, with hospitals reporting a 76% increase in injuries,
complications and harm to patients due to chronic understaffing.
A number of legislators, who spoke at the event,
seemed to agree that the current crisis was so severe, it warranted
immediate action.
Rep. Christine Canavan, RN (D-Brockton), lead sponsor
of the bill, called the nurses in the crowd, "Gladiators in
the fight for patient safety. We have to pass this bill and we have
to fix this. Plan A is to get it passed now. Plan B is to keep fighting
for our patients," she said.
"It's not easy being a patient. It's not easy
being a nurse. We have to make sure we're taking care of these people,
don't we?" said state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, a Waltham Democrat
and Health Care committee co-chairman.
"Let me tell you what is really unjust,"
said state Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton. "When the insurance
industry can get what they want, when the pharmaceutical industry
can get what they want, it is outrageous that patients cannot get
what they need and they deserve, and that's quality health care.
We need safe RN staffing and we need it now!"
At the end of the Rally, nurses and advocates spent
time drafting hand-written letters to their legislators urging a
vote on the bill and hand delivered those letters before leaving
the building.
The next step is to keep up the pressure through
letter writing, e-mailing, phone calling, personal visits and other
outreach efforts to convince legislators to move this bill for a
vote on the floor of the legislature.
Senator Pacheco has also drafted and filed an amendment
containing the language of H. 1282 to be added to the Senate version
of the State Budget, which is another way to pass this legislation.
The Coalition to Protect Massachusetts Patients and the MNA is exploring
every possible avenue for passing this legislation before the end
of the legislative session on July 31.
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