IL hospital officials oppose mandatory nursing ratios
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
March 28, 2007
Illinois hospital officials are speaking out against a bill that would create mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios in the state, according to an article on Quad Cities Online.
The officials said hospitals should retain the ability to staff units according to patient needs. By creating a mandatory ratio, hospitals may waste resources in areas that do not need the added attention while other areas suffer from a lack of personnel. They also argued that the cost of implementing the ratios would be prohibitive.
California has a mandatory ratio law in effect and other states are mulling similar proposals.
