Pandion Healthcare Advocates and Rochester-area nurses traveled to Albany on May 21 to meet with elected officials and express opposition to government-mandated staffing ratios.
Legislation proposed by the New York State Nurses Association, a downstate labor union, would impose rigid nurse-to-patient ratios in every New York hospital and nursing home, overriding the professional judgement of nurses and healthcare professionals (A.2054/S.1032). These rigid, one-size-fits-all ratios would apply to all facilities regardless of size, location, or the needs of their patients.
Government-mandated nurse staffing ratios would disproportionally impact upstate New York. A survey conducted by the hospital associations representing, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany revealed that government-mandated staffing ratios, combined with existing vacancies, would require a grand total of 2,441 additional nurses. There simply aren’t enough nurses to fill the demand.
Pandion Healthcare Advocates is working with the Coalition for Safe & Affordable Care to tell legislators that government-mandated staffing ratios are unnecessary and would drive up costs at a time when health care funding is already at risk. For more information, please click here.
About Pandion Healthcare: Education & Advocacy
Pandion Healthcare: Education and Advocacy is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 association whose membership is comprised of 17 hospitals and their related health systems in the nine counties of Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Seneca, Yates, Allegany, Steuben, and Chemung. Pandion Healthcare: Education and Advocacy works closely with the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) and the American Hospital Association (AHA), collaborating on many issues and activities.