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Armed with a new poll, Michigan nurses and advocates brought their support for a law setting minimum staffing levels to the steps of the State Capitol on Thursday.
The poll of 600 residents conducted for the Michigan Nurses Association in early September found that 80 percent of respondents favor such a law, while 77 percent believe the quality of patient care in Michigan hospitals is suffering because registered nurses are being assigned too many patients per shift.
State Representative Jon Hoadley, a Kalamazoo Democrat, is sponsoring a bill in the Michigan House that would require hospitals to set minimum staffing requirements.
State Senator Rebekah Warren is sponsoring a companion bill in the Senate.
The Safe Patient Care Act would also curb the rampant use of mandatory overtime for RN’s. Sponsors say the legislation has bipartisan support in both chambers.
