NJSNA Supports Staffing Ratios
The New Jersey State Nurses Association (NJSNA) announced today that it supports minimum nurse staffing ratios to ensure safe, quality care.
Amid the backdrop of an ongoing nurses strike in the Garden State, NJSNA President Sandra Foley, DNP, MSN, RN, said appropriate levels of staffing would support patient safety.
“We need minimum staffing standards with acuity considerations now,” Foley said. “Nurses save lives! The staffing crisis must end.”
In a public statement issued earlier today, Foley said nurses appreciate the support the public bestowed on them during the pandemic, and they want to continue to deliver high-quality care to our patients under safe working conditions. She said “inappropriate” nurse staffing levels significantly and negatively affect 1) safe patient care, increasing the likelihood of medication errors, infections, and patient deaths, and 2) caregiver well-being, increasing nurse stress, burnout and injury.
Foley urges New Jersey residents to ask their elected officials to support the staffing bill (A4536/S304) that is currently circulating in Trenton.
On the national level, NJSNA continues to work with the American Nurses Association that address four public policy issues that include the nurse staffing crisis, Improving Care for Access to Nurses Act, also known as ICAN (H.R. 2713), Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (H.R. 2663/S. 1176) and the National Nursing Workforce Center Act (S. 1150/H.R. 2411).
NJSNA urged lawmakers on Capitol Hill this summer to improve nurse staffing to 1) prohibit mandatory overtime, 2) require Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a national healthcare workplace violence standard and 3) implement nurse staffing standards to ensure they have the resources to deliver quality care and positive patient outcomes.
NJSNA also supports patient access to healthcare services delivered by their provider of choice and expanded authority of the Health Resources and Services Administration to establish health workforce research centers with one focused on nursing and new occupational safety as well as health standards from the U.S. Department of Labor that require employers to take action to protect nurses and other healthcare works from workplace violence.
About NJSNA
NJSNA, established in 1901, is a constituent member of the American Nurses Association. The NJSNA represents the interests of more than 173,000 registered nurses and advanced practice nurses as an advocate for the nursing profession. NJSNA’s lobbying arm continues to protect the nursing profession through legislative victories. Its nonprofit foundation, the Institute For Nursing, helps nurses further their careers by providing continuing education, scholarships and research grants, in addition to invaluable networking opportunities. For more information, visit www.njsna.org, contact NJSNA at njsna@njsna.org, or call 609-883-5335.
