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Posted on 09/29/2003 9:07:19 PM PDT by chance33_98
New Era in Patient Safety - RN-Patient Ratios Now Final; Poll Shows Awareness of Ratio Law Makes Voters Less Likely to Vote to Recall Gov. Davis
9/29/03 7:46:00 PM
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To: National and State desks, Health reporter
Contact: Charles Idelson of the California Nurses Association, 510-273-2246 or 415-559-8991 (pager); or Donna Gerber, 916-919-1226
OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- California's historic RN-to-patient ratio law is now final, following sign off by the last state agency completed late Friday, which kicks off a new era in patient safety, the California Nurses Association (CNA), which sponsored the landmark law, said today.
The Office of Administrative Law, the state agency which must authorize all new regulations, approved the new minimum registered nurse staffing ratios that all hospitals must meet by January 1, 2004. Many California hospitals have hired hundreds of RNs in advent of the implementation date.
"California families should expect a new standard of patient safety in our hospitals," said new CNA President Deborah Burger, RN. "With ratios in place, we can finally look forward to safer conditions and begin to reverse some of the destruction to patient care conditions caused by years of managed care and profit-oriented medical care."
Burger called the ratios "a hallmark of the Gray Davis administration. Gov. Davis is still the only governor in the U.S. to sign a law requiring safe RN staffing in hospitals. All Californians owe him our thanks for acting to protect our families when they need hospital care."
CNA poll: awareness of ratios makes voters "think more of Gov. Davis"
CNA today also released the findings of a CNA-commissioned poll showing awareness of the ratio law makes probable voters less likely to vote for the recall.
The poll, conducted in mid-September, found that 77 percent of voters who are undecided or who have not finalized their decisions support the ratios. Significantly, 50 percent of undecided voters, and 46 percent of those whose position on the recall was "soft" would "think more of Gov. Gray Davis if they found he was a strong supporter" of the ratio law. Only 8 percent and 4 percent respectively of those categories would think less of the governor. The poll was conducted by Fingerhut Granados Opinion Research based in Washington.
Overall, the poll found 77 percent of likely voters think "strong standards are necessary" to protect patients, including "clear rules on safe nurse-to-patient ratios." (For more information on the poll, contact Vic Fingerhut, 202-331-3700.)
CNA, which has campaigned since 1992 to enact safe RN staffing ratios, is the state's largest organization of RNs representing nearly 55,000 RNs. More information including the specific ratios can be found on the CNA website, http://www.calnurse.org. The final regulations are posted on the Department of Health Service website, http://www.dhs.ca.gov.
Seems distinctly North Korean in flavor. Davis is "our dear leader" ala Kim Jung Il.
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