Hospitals across Maine are struggling with the consequences of staffing at skeletal levels, leaving nurses scrambling to care for their patients. Registered nurses (RNs) in the state have long advocated for the Maine Quality Care Act (L.D. 1639) in order to protect both patients and nurses. This law would set limits on the number of patients a nurse can be assigned to, providing both necessary safety for patients and an environment where nurses can work to their fullest abilities for their patients.
Cokie Giles, president of the Maine State Nurses Association (affiliated with National Nurses United,) has worked as an RN in the state for nearly four decades and discussed the dangers of understaffing in hospitals. Without any limits at the moment, nurses find themselves responsible for too many patients, leading to compromised care. RNs have to constantly assess patients and adjust medications accordingly, all while being responsible for coordination of care and more. With too many patients come rushed care and missed signs of complications; nurses can still do their job, but they just can’t do it well.
No matter how many new nurses the hospital industry recruits, the staffing crisis won’t disappear without appropriate patient load limits. So there is no nursing shortage like the industry may claim, with over twelve thousand unutilized RNs in Maine alone according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data show there’s a plentiful pipeline of new nursing grads, but it won’t help if nurses feel driven away with long hours and too many patients.
The hospital industry has launched a scare campaign against the Maine Quality Care Act, claiming it could lead to shuttered hospital units and miles long ambulance lines. This propaganda has no basis in reality; California experienced none of those effects when they passed their own safe staffing act, and experienced fewer emergency room diversions, an uptick in RNs, and an increase in new RN grads.
Studies have proven again and again that safe staffing limits improve patient outcomes – which everybody can agree on. Too much patient load opens the door to medical errors, complications, extended hospital stays, need for readmission, falls, injuries, and ultimately, higher mortality rates. This is why the Maine Quality Care Act exists: to give nurses the necessary protections to ensure they are delivering safe, high-quality patient care. At the end of the day, it’s all about patient safety.
The Maine State Nurses Association, along with National Nurses United, are dedicated to patient safety and supporting the nurses and healthcare providers of Maine. Cokie Giles, President of the Maine State Nurses Association, is a long-time veteran in Maine nursing, and is passionate about nurses getting the resources and protection they need to stay at the bedside and provide quality care. Through L.D. 1639, they are seeking to make sure that patient safety is not compromised for the sake of cost-cutting measures.