Hospitals fighting measure aimed at staffing of nurses

Wednesday, April 14, 1999 | 10:31 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Assembly Tuesday agreed to "put some teeth" in a bill aimed at improving the staffing of nurses at hospitals. Hospitals are vigorously opposing the measure.

Assembly Bill 586, introduced by Assemblywoman Vivian Freeman, D-Reno, would require hospitals to develop plans for staffing and keep track of whether they are meeting the goals.

It was amended on the floor of the Assembly Tuesday to impose a $10,000 fine on hospital administrators who don't provide the staffing required in the plan.

The bill was referred to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee to assess the predicted $60,000 cost to the state to monitor the requirements.

The bill applies to hospitals, emergency centers, and facilities for intermediate or skilled nursing care. It requires these centers to determine the number of employees that should be stationed at each unit and on each shift. The plan must assess the amount of nursing care needed by patients in each section of the hospital, the skill of the staff required to deliver that care and the plan for putting it into effect.

The change allowing for the fine, Freeman said, put some teeth in the measure. "Staffing in hospitals has been reduced drastically," said Freeman, a former nurse of 20 years. And that has led to a decline in the quality of care for patients.

James Wadhams, lobbyist for Nevada hospitals, said AB586 is redundant with existing state laws and regulations. Many of the new reports on patient care that would be required by the bill are already submitted to the state Board of Health, he said.

He also charged the Service Employees International Union, which "is working hard to organize hospital employees," is behind the bill. The union recently won an election to represent employees at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, he said.

Freeman denied it is a union bill. It's a bill for nurses who are "not political animals," she said. The bill does not address wages or hours, but putting qualified people on the floors of medical centers, she said.

Hospitals are trying to cut costs by hiring less qualified people, such as nursing assistants. "These are not the kind of backup that a nurse needs," she said.

Wadhams also objected to a "whistleblower" section in the bill that "isn't a whistleblower at all. It pits employees against each other."