The Minnesota Nurses Association is pleased the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act is included in the House omnibus health bill. M-N-A registered nurse Becky Nelson says it would address short-staffing and nurse retention, and protect patient care:
“The biggest thing in the bill is that it requires hospitals to have a staffing committee that’s comprised of nurses and management that would set a maximum a patient assignment for nurses and patients in the hospital.”
Nelson says that includes a limit on the number of patients one nurse is responsible for. There’s also grants to establish mental health and loan forgiveness programs for nurses.