Opinion Editor’s Note: editorial represents the opinion of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently of the Newsroom.
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“Not achievable.”
“Destined to fail.”
Robert HackyHe is a professor of health policy and administration at Providence College in Rhode Island.
The legislation is the latest initiative by the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) to address long-standing concerns about patient safety by increasing the number of bedside nurses. The union, the MNA, has been at odds with state hospitals over minimum staffing requirements for years and has been pushing to implement them in state law, with no success.
HF1700/SF 1707, also known as “Keep Nurses in Bedside Act 2023,” is the latest in this effort. It establishes a committee-led process for nurses and hospital administrators to set a “core staffing plan for each inpatient unit,” and resolve disputes if management rejects the committee’s decision. It involves arbitration for
A better option than California’s strict nurse-to-patient ratio, legislators would have to reject the bill’s staffing elements for now, but they’ll have to do more to prevent workplace violence initiatives and loan forgiveness. Another important piece of legislation needs to be passed to get more people into nursing.
Hacky’s assessment is harsh, but it reflects a harsh reality. The country is grappling with a severe labor shortage. The challenge is even more acute in the healthcare industry. At a time when hospitals are struggling to hire and retain nurses, how will you strengthen staffing for the impact of this legislation if enacted?
“It’s a supply issue. We don’t have enough people,” Hackie told editorial writers.
He said the current focus is on attracting medical professionals as retirement and post-pandemic staff burnout continue to strain the workforce and care capacity.
Even in previous years, when the DFL dominated state governments as it does now, the political environment was thought to be more suitable for this union-led initiative, but legislators were skeptical about nurse staffing laws. I was cautious. In 2013, the Star Tribune editorial board commended the DFL-controlled House of Representatives and Senate for their progressive response to the MNA’s staffing demands.
The bill, passed 10 years ago, wisely fell short of meeting the new requirements, but called for more public disclosure of information about hospital staffing. It also approved the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to study “the correlation between nurse staffing and patient outcomes” in the state’s healthcare system.
That information helped future lawmakers make informed decisions.So it was very frustrating to learn from 2015 MDH Report The study could not be completed because the hospital refused to provide the necessary data.
This year, legislators should require research to start fresh and ask hospitals to cooperate. The findings will move the debate beyond hospital and nurse issues. Her 2015 MDH report, which reviewed other studies, concluded that a “positive association” exists between higher nurse staffing and certain patient outcomes.
But now is not the right time to implement this. In addition to staffing shortages, the hospital’s dire financial situation is also the reason for the postponement. Earlier this month, the Star Tribune editorial board sounded the alarm, noting that in 2022, more than half of the state’s health care systems will post negative operating margins. These headwinds are plaguing hospitals across the country and will take time to abate.
Recruiting additional nurses in response to staffing reforms is costly, and even more costly during staffing shortages. The inability to afford or find additional nurses can result in struggling hospitals closing units or scaling back capacity. The state hospital association warns that access to care for 70,000 Minnesotans could be threatened if the staffing bill is passed.
In an interview this week, MNA officials countered that the law would help alleviate labor shortages. They said many nurses who left the profession would return once the staffing problem was resolved.
The MNA attributes this in part to the low vacancy rate for nursing positions in California, which has a strict nurse-to-patient ratio. But salaries, not staffing, can explain this.California has the highest annual income in the country average wage For registered nurses.
a Recent reports We also showed that California nurses are leaving the workforce for the same reason Minnesota nurses left bedside care. This further raises questions about whether staffing reforms alone will bring back enough nurses.
Legislators must ensure that the Minnesota investigation is completed and its conclusions reflected in the debate. However, at this time, we have to be careful.
Editorial board members are David Banks, Jill Burcum, Scott Gillespie, Denise Johnson, Patricia Lopez, John Rash, and DJ Tice. Star Tribune Opinion staff members Maggie Kelly and Elena Neuzil also contribute, and Star Tribune publisher and CEO Michael J. Klingensmith serves as advisor to the Board.
