Assembly Passes Nursing Quality Legislation

Measure Seeks Greater Disclosure and Accountability

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried today announced Assembly unanimously passed legislation requiring hospitals to prohibit staff members who are not registered nurses or licensed practical nurses from portraying themselves as "nurses," and disclose staffing information in regard to registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and unlicensed staff (A.5591).

At issue, according to Silver, is the practice employed by hospitals whereby, unlicensed personnel use the title "nurse," which often causes confusion, particularly among the patients receiving care. Silver and Gottfried noted that the bill would limit the use of the title "nurse" to only people legally authorized to practice nursing under the Nurse Practice Act.

Silver and Gottfried said many registered nurses are being replaced with unlicensed personnel and patients might not know how qualified the person is who is treating them. With more and more studies showing the important role RN to patient staffing ratios play in saving lives and preventing medical errors, it is crucial that hospitals provide this information to patients.

"Anyone who has faced a delicate medical procedure and difficult recuperation knows the value of a dedicated, compassionate nurse professional," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "This bill's provision requiring hospitals to disclose information on the number of RNs, LPNs and unlicensed staff utilized to provide direct patient care will help restore confidence in the level of care being provided."

"Every day nurses are overwhelmed trying to take care of their patients-too much stress, too many patients, and too much overtime. This bill simply requires hospitals to disclose to the public who is taking care of their loved ones, and how many patients they are expected to take care of. It also says you can't call yourself a nurse if you're not licensed as a nurse," said Gottfried (D-Manhattan), sponsor of the bill.

The measure also requires hospitals to disclose nursing quality indicators such as:

• the number of RNs and LPNs providing direct care and the ratio of patients to RNs;
• the number of unlicensed personnel used to provide direct care;
• patient injuries and medication errors caused by adverse patient care;
• the methods used by hospitals to determine staffing levels; and
• data regarding complaints filed with the state or federal regulatory agencies.

"Too few registered nurses at the bedside mean higher levels of patient complications and higher death rates," said NYSNA Director Lola Fehr, RN. "This legislation would give patients and their families vital information that will help them to determine where they can get the best nursing care."

"New York, like the rest of the nation, could face a critical nursing shortage," said Silver. "The average age of nurses in New York State is 47 years of age. We face double-edged issues of large numbers of the current nursing population rapidly approaching retirement, fewer and fewer new recruits entering the profession, coupled with the short retention rates for those who do enter nursing. As we search for ways of dealing with this health care issue, we must ensure practices which could compromise patient care and safety are not employed.