Nurse-to-Patient Ratios California hospitals rank next to last in the nation in average number of nurses to patients. In October, Governer Gray Davis approved landmark legislation requiring the State Department of Health Services to adopt regulations establishing minimum, specific, and numerical licensed nurse-to-patient ratios for all hospital units. Currently, nurse-to-patient ratios are set for operating rooms, critical-care units, and newborn intensive-care units only. California is the first state to require nurse-to-patient staffing ratios throughout all hospital departments. According to California Nurses Association President Kay McVay, RN, “This bill will save the lives of countless numbers of patients needlessly endangered by unsafe hospital conditions.” The new ratios will be set by the California Department of Health Services in Sacramento and will take effect in 2002. We are counting on Governor Davis to resist the efforts of health industry lobbyists and to adopt a safe and fair policy for California’s hospitals and patients.
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