May 27, 2005 The Honorable Liz Krueger 211 East 43rd Street Suite #1300 New York, NY 10017 Dear Senator Krueger: Thank you for being a progressive voice in the Senate and for working to help Democrats regain control of the chamber. When you came to our office a couple of years ago, we discussed nurse/patient ratios, and you recommended a disclosure bill as a first step. As you know, the Assembly recently passed the Nursing Care Quality Protection Act (A. 3543) requiring that hospitals report nurse staffing levels and other quality of care indicators. The Senate companion bill (S53) is stuck in the Health Committee. As pleased as we are that the Assembly passed this bill, we believe that the current version is too weak to protect patient safety. Specifically, under the current bill, hospitals must make information on quality care indicators available to the public only upon request. NYPNU asks that you work with us to amend the bill to require the public posting of unit-based ratios on individual hospital units. We also propose that access to these ratios be added to the Patient Bill of Rights. v Nurses know that patients and families under stress do not always remember to take the time to educate themselves about their rights. New York State now requires that every patient be given a Health Care Proxy upon entering the hospital. Similarly patients must be made aware of the connection between nurse/patient ratios and the quality of care they can expect to receive. A frequently cited study conducted by Linda Aiken revealed that patients in hospitals with eight patients per nurse have a 31% greater risk of dying than those in hospitals with four patients per nurse. Hospital administrators focus on budget, budget, budget. For that reason, we need stricter laws enumerating minimum nurse/patient ratios with meaningful penalties to guarantee compliance. The disclosure bill admittedly falls short of our ultimate objective--saving lives. Nevertheless the changes we are recommending will at least guarantee that patients and their families are able to make informed decisions about their care. Please help us help our patients! Sincerely, Naomi B. Zauderer Executive Director « Return to Political Action Index © 2004 New York Professional Nurses Union Ph: 212.988.5565 1104 Lexington Ave #2D New York, NY 10021 nypnu@nypnu.org Home | About NYPNU | Your Rights At Work | Political Action | Members Only | Have Fun