GILROY
– Saint Louise Regional Hospital will likely be included in a
statewide survey by the California Nurses Association to learn
whether California hospitals are complying with a safe staffing law
that went into effect Jan. 1.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Saint Louise Regional Hospital will likely be included in a statewide survey by the California Nurses Association to learn whether California hospitals are complying with a safe staffing law that went into effect Jan. 1.
The 55,000-member nurses’ union, the largest in the country, on Tuesday began distributing surveys to nurses on every unit in hospitals across the state.
“With the audit, we hope to provide a more detailed answer for patients and their families to assess how their local hospitals are faring on compliance with the law,” said CNA President Deborah Burger.
The final stage of the Safe Staffing Law, signed by former Gov. Gray Davis in 1999, went into effect Jan. 1, requiring hospitals to maintain set nurse-to-patient ratios. The minimum required number of registered nurses per patient varies by department.
A CNA spokesperson said the union will distribute surveys at Saint Louise and will provide a report on the hospital in February if it receives sufficient feedback.
Saint Louise officials continue to struggle to meet the new requirements.
“It’s a challenge every day for us to meet mandated staffing ratios,” said Steve Sharrer, director of human resources for Saint Louise. He had not heard about the planned audit.
Sharrer could not say whether fulfilling the ratios will get easier as time goes on.
“The staffing ratios are set based on the number of patients, and we just have to do our best to meet that, and that’s where the challenge comes in,” he said.
Sharrer said the struggle to meet established ratios is not specific to times of day or departments of the hospital.
“I would guess that (hospitals) are all struggling with the same thing, we’re all encountering the same challenges,” Sharrer said.
At issue for many hospitals is the California Department of Health Services interpretation of law as requiring nurse-patient ratios to be met “at all times.”
Two days before the ratios went into effect, the California Healthcare Association, the group that represents the state’s hospitals, sued the Department of Health Services over the interpretation. The lawsuit claimed it is too difficult for hospitals to meet ratios during nurses’ breaks.
A hearing is set for March 19.
The California Healthcare Association is warning that some hospitals may be forced to close certain departments if they cannot meet staffing standards, although Saint Louise officials have not predicted any closures at the Gilroy hospital.
