NY lawmakers target understaffing at hospitals, nursing homes. What to know
New York lawmakers passed legislation Tuesday that establishes minimum staffing levels for hospitals and nursing homes, asserting understaffing practices at some facilities contributed to COVID-19 infections and deaths.
The health care staffing bills, which have been debated in various forms over the past decade, were approved by both houses of the Legislature Tuesday afternoon. During a press conference earlier in the day, health care union leaders and lawmakers urged Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the bills, if passed.
One bill establishes minimum staffing hours per resident and related provisions for nursing home care statewide. It comes after more than 13,000 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 complications in the long-term care facilities.
The other bill requires each hospital to establish a committee of nurses and administrators to devise a staffing plan. It must include specific guidelines or ratios, matrices, or grids indicating how many patients are assigned to each nurse and the number of ancillary staff in each unit.
Read more: https://www.uticaod.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/05/04/ny-lawmakers-push-bills-nursing-home-hospital-staffing-levels/4936461001/
(Utica Observer-Dispatch)
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