A state Senate bill would require hospitals to determine nurse-to-patient staffing ratios – and adhere to them or face possible fines of $5,000 per day for each violation.
Critics contend that Senate Bill 10 could lead to added costs for hospitals and would do little to improve patient care.
“It would put a lot of requirements on hospitals, take time and add costs,” said Marty Arizumi, vice president of public affairs for the Colorado Health and Hospital Association. She said hospital officials and groups statewide overwhelmingly oppose the legislation, in part because the supply of available nurses is tight.
The bill does not set minimum nurse-to- patient ratios. Instead, it requires hospitals to develop and disclose those levels and make “a good- faith” effort to adhere to their staffing plans.
SB10 is sponsored by Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, a registered nurse. The bill will be discussed Thursday in the Health and Human Services Committee.
Supporters argue that some hospitals skimp on nurse staffing, which puts patients at risk and prompts some nurses to leave the profession. A 2005 study by the Colorado Board of Nursing showed that 51 percent of nurses statewide and 63 percent in the metro area believed their hospitals were insufficiently staffed.
“This is a free-market solution that allows hospitals to compete for nurses and patients,” said Scott Wasserman, legislative director for the Service Employees Union International. The union, which would like to organize more than 50,000 nurses in Colorado, helped craft the legislation.
If the legislation becomes law, Wasserman said that Colorado hospitals’ staffing ratios could be included in the “Colorado Hospital Report Card” to be released this fall.
Wasserman said about 20 states require hospitals to disclose nurse-to-patient staffing levels.
California is the only state to mandate nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, but Wasserman said SB10 differs significantly from the California law.
Passed in 1999 and enacted in 2004, the California law has been the subject of two unsuccessful lawsuits aimed at narrowing its scope. The bill mandated hospitals to maintain a nurse- to-patient ratio of 1-to-5 in the medical/surgical unit and a 1-to- 4 ratio in the emergency room.
Forcing Colorado hospitals to maintain set staffing levels in each unit could make them less nimble, said Debbie Welle-Powell, vice president of legislative affairs for Exempla Healthcare.
“We think this bill does not allow the flexibility that nursing leaders need,” she said.
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-954-1260 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
