Editorial counterpoint: We must retain nurses to protect patient care in Minnesota hospitals

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"Rarely when I go to the hospital do I fear for my life, however lately that hasn't been the case."

"I noticed nurses dealing with greater patient loads than I was used to, and in cases of admissions, a much greater wait time to get into the hospital."

"I was not receiving the best care I could."

Those are the words of Steve Romenesko, who recently testified to Minnesota legislators about his experience during four trips to Minnesota hospitals in the past year. Unfortunately, Steve's experience is not unique. Throughout the state, patient care is put at risk every day when hospital executives fail to staff and retain enough qualified nurses at the bedside. Despite what these hospital executives claim ("Caution on nurse staffing reforms," editorial, March 19), legislative action is desperately needed to protect quality patient care and retain enough skilled nurses in our hospitals by passing the bipartisan Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act (HF 1700, SF 1561).

While other states may face nursing shortages, Minnesota is fortunate to have a surplus of registered nurses, with thousands more graduating every year. Last year the number of RNs rose by 4,000 to 122,000. But hospital CEOs created crisis conditions for patients and workers in our hospitals that are driving those nurses away faster than hospitals can hire them. Just last year, more than 2,400 Minnesota nurses left their hospital bedside jobs. Those nurses, like those in so many other studies, surveys and reports made clear why they left: insufficient staffing levels that compromise patient care, put nurses at risk of violence, and create moral injury in nurses when they feel they cannot provide the care they know they should.

Hospital executives claim the legislation will create a staffing crisis, yet nurses and patients are already experiencing that crisis daily in our hospitals. Patients are waiting as much as 24 hours to be admitted in hospital emergency rooms, they are being treated in the hallways with no privacy or call light, and beds sit empty because hospital executives cannot retain staff under these conditions. Just last year, the Minnesota Department of Health reported that adverse events in our hospitals went up by 33%. That means more bed sores, medication errors, surgical complications, falls or even deaths inside of our hospitals.

And since last year, nurses reported more than 8,400 cases where insufficient staffing threatened patient care or safety. These problems are happening everywhere, from greater Minnesota to the metro area. Minnesotans are paying more each year as health care costs continue to rise but are getting less time with overworked nurses and other health care staff who provide their essential care. That is why nurses are once again working to pass legislation to address the issue of nurse retention and patient care. This bill is a unique Minnesota solution that avoids a "one size fits all" approach, which instead would bring front-line health care workers and managers together at each hospital and create staffing plans on a local basis for each unit in the hospital. Nurses have met frequently with bipartisan legislators and other stakeholders, including hospital administrators and the Minnesota Hospital Association, to make changes to the bill to help it work better for hospitals, nurses and patients.

If Minnesota fails to solve the problem here this year, we risk losing our skilled nurses to other states willing to take action to ensure safe staffing levels. And we risk scaring off the next generation of nurses from entering nursing education programs, if they do not see the changes needed to make this a career they can stay in. Worst of all, we risk further degrading the quality-of-care patients receive in our hospitals.

More than 2,000 nurses who left Minnesota hospital jobs last year are ready to return to the bedside if staffing and working conditions improve. It is for patients like Steve, our loved ones, and all of us who will need care someday that we must pass the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act this year, to retain nurses and protect the exceptional standard of care all patients expect and deserve in Minnesota.

Mary C. Turner is an RN at North Memorial and president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. Chris Rubesch is an RN at Essentia Duluth and first vice president of the MNA.