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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 20, 2019 11:22 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Sara Innamorato |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Safe Nurse Staffing |
| As many of us know, when a family has to make the difficult decision to place a loved one in a nursing home, they should expect them to be in a safe and caring environment. Unfortunately, nursing staff in these homes often have to manage too many patients at once, leading to medication errors, infections and falls, and even accidental death. As Pennsylvania’s population continues to age, more and more older adults with chronic and debilitating conditions will need long-term care. Every resident deserves the dignity of quality care and to ensure that this is at the forefront in nursing homes, I will be introducing legislation to ask the Department of Health to increase the nurse staffing standards in regulation to be more in line with what research tells us – care provided by nurses have a direct impact on patient safety. Staff in these homes are hardworking and trusted professionals who put taking care of our loved ones first, but are extremely overworked and underpaid, which can lead to burnout and turnover. Pennsylvania has the opportunity to be one of the first states to mandate nurse staffing ratios in law – let us start this process by urging the department to take a look at their regulations on the issue. Your consideration is appreciated. Thank you. |
Introduced as HR429