AONL to NYT Op-Ed: Nurses, Not Legislators, Should Decide Appropriate Nurse Staffing

Aug 20, 2021 - 09:37 AM by
Mary Ann Fuchs
Mary Fuchs Headshot

The essay Nurses Deserve Better. So Do Their Patients is right to note the “awesome” impact that nurses have within our health care system and in the battle against Covid-19. The author sadly misses the point in her assessment of legislation on patient-to-nurse staffing ratios. While we can all agree that staffing is a critical component of good care, mandated nurse staffing ratios removes needed flexibility from nurses for the care they provide. Ratios are a static and ineffective tool that cannot guarantee a safe heath care environment. Care is team based and a lack of flexibility to provide staffing based on the acuity of individual patient needs jeopardized safe patient care. To truly commit to patient safety – always the number one priority - nurses; not legislators need to be empowered with flexibility to determine appropriate staffing for the needs of their patients.

Mary Ann Fuchs, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, is president of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership.
 

Related News Articles

Headline
HHS to end emergency authorization for COVID-19 drugs, medical devices 
The Department of Health and Human Services June 30 announced it will terminate emergency use authorization declarations for certain drugs and medical devices…
Headline
AONL to host virtual bootcamp on AI strategy
The AHA’s American Organization for Nursing Leadership will host a biweekly virtual bootcamp from July 14-Aug. 25 for nurse executives and directors to provide…
Headline
CMS Administrator Oz and Deputy Administrator Brillman discuss agency’s focus on innovation, reducing waste
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D., and CMS Deputy Administrator and Director of Medicaid and CHIP Dan Brillman sat…
Headline
Webinar to share strategies on workforce relief 
The AHA will host a webinar April 16 at 1 p.m. ET featuring leaders from CHRISTUS Health and The Urology Group to share how nurse-first triage and smarter…
Headline
CDC releases report on flu, COVID-19 vaccination coverage for health care workers for 2024-25 respiratory season 
Flu and COVID-19 vaccination rates among all health care workers for the 2024-25 respiratory virus season was 76.3% and 40.2%, respectively, according to a…
Headline
Study estimates more than 155,000 uncounted COVID-19 deaths occurred early during pandemic 
A study published March 18 by Science Advances estimated that more than 155,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths were uncounted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers…