Patient Safety Matters to Organized Labor

Understaffing Creates a Dangerous Environment for RNs and Patients:

• In their pursuit of profits at any cost, hospitals have taken to "speeding up the line" by giving nurses more patients than they can safely care for at a time. This leads to a hazardous work environment where injuries and burnout are more likely to occur. It also leads to an increase in preventable medical errors, putting the lives of patients at risk.
• Nurses enter the profession to provide care to our society's most vulnerable and to earn an honest living. They should not be subjected to these brutal, dangerous and unfair working conditions.
• These conditions are driving registered nurses out of the profession, with less than 50% of RNs in Massachusetts working bedside (Opinion Dynamics Survey, June 2003) and over 40% of bedside nurses work only part time (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services).

The Patient Safety Act Protects Non-RN Staff:

• The bill includes stipulations that would protect the jobs of licensed practical nurses, aides and technicians, and it instructs the Dept. of Public Health to account for these support staff in the development of staffing limits.
• The Patient Safety Act will add nurses to the health care team while protecting everyone else on it.

The Patient Safety Act will reduce health care costs while improving quality:

• Health care costs continue to escalate, straining employers and employees alike. The Patient Safety Act helps to combat rising costs by reducing hospital stays, expensive medical errors, and the financial strain of replacing nurses who leave the profession due to burnout. At the same time it helps to ensure that quality of patient care will improve for those who fall ill across the Commonwealth.