Safe Staffing law a Key Milestone in 2021

After a long, hard-fought struggle, members and healthcare workers succeeded in getting landmark hospital and nursing home staffing legislation passed into state law.

NYSNA members celebrate safe staffing law.

wIth the CoVID-19 pandemic and fear over new variants of the virus, the past two years have been brutal for everyone, especially healthcare workers . Healthcare workers were thrust into a battle for which few people understood . For many nurses and frontline health staff, this period has been among the most challenging of their personal and professional lives . the light at the end of the tunnel, however, came with passage of a new safe staffing law in the summer of 2021 . After a long, hard-fought struggle, members and healthcare workers succeeded in getting landmark hospital and nursing home staffing legislation passed into state law . Former Gov . Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law on June 18, meaning effective Jan . 2022, there is a process in place for setting and enforcing staffing standards at every hospital in the state — regardless of whether the facility is public or private, not-forprofit or for-profit, union or non-union . Implementation of the staffing law for nursing homes has been delayed, unfortunately . the new law establishes clinical staffing committees of at least 50% frontline nurses and direct care staff who will set annual staffing standards for each unit of a facility . employers must meet with workers on equal footing and establish a staffing plan . the measure enforces facilities yearly staffing plan through the Department of Health . Healthcare facility operators who fail to create or abide by staffing standards will face civil penalties . Additionally, the measure requires the Department of Health to create new minimum staffing standards for ICus and critical care units .

sAving lives

this is critical as hospitals that staff 1:8 nurse-to-patient ratios experience five additional deaths per 1,000 patients than a 1:4 nurse-to-patient ratio according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002 . Moreover, the odds of patient death increases by 7% for each additional patient the nurse must take on at one time the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002 reports . passage of the safe staffing law was a huge win for nurses, healthcare workers, patients, and nursing home residents throughout the state . Now, it is imperative that we continue to organize to ensure that this implementation of this hallmark legislation is not delayed . Administrators will claim that with understaffing, they cannot be required to adhere to a new law . But this law was passed for a reason and hospitals and health systems must comply . As we gear up to defend what we have won, we are clear that we would not have made it this far without members’ persistent and strong advocacy . NYSNA nurses made their voices heard at the bedside, in the streets, and in the halls of Albany . NYSNA nurses also partnered with fellow healthcare professionals from 1199SeIu and CWA District 1 to demand safe staffing for the entire care team . this solidarity helped secure this victory . As the union moves into the next phase of work, it is essential that nurses sign up to be a Safe Staffing Captain . Interested parties can register on NYSNA’s website, with their organizer or visiting this link: https://www .nysna . org/dashboard# .YbZ8dbpok2w .