Hundreds of nurses across the state gathered to shine a light on the care crisis and pledge to vote safe staffing on November 6th.
Dozens of nurses across Pennsylvania held candlelight vigils Wednesday evening  as a call for action to end chronic short staffing in our state’s hospitals and nursing homes by electing candidates on November 6th who support safe patient limit laws.
“This is a human being issue. This isn’t about republicans or democrats, it’s about humans,” said Paula Stellabotte, an ICU RN from Altoona.  “All of us are going to need the care of a nurse at some point in our life and we want to be able to be there for you.”
As healthcare becomes increasingly corporate, care decisions in hospitals and nursing homes are being made by executives rather than those on the frontline of care. Nurses must do more with less as executives place the bottom line ahead of patient care.
“Nurses have been working to try and fix the care crisis but management doesn’t always listen,” said Kim Heverly, RN. “Until there are laws in place that set a safe limit, hospitals aren’t going to take notice and they aren’t going to change anything.”
In a study of 1,000 bedside nurses last year, 94% of nurses say their facility does not have enough nursing staff and 95% have been unable to provide best care as a result. Research shows implementing safe patient limits in Pennsylvania could reduce surgical patient deaths in hospitals by 10%.
For the past year, nurses across Pennsylvania have met with candidates and legislators to educate them about the crisis and urge them to commit to supporting safe patient limit laws. (PA House Bill 1500 and PA Senate Bill 214). To date, there are 51 cosponsors of the bills in the house and 18 cosponsors in the senate, representing both sides of the aisle.
“If I have 11 patients in a 12-hour shift that means I see each patient for just 1 hour a day – and that patient may only get 2 hours of nurse time in a 24-hour period. That isn’t enough,” said Jenna Miller, RN. “We need our elected officials to stand with nurses and that means passing these laws. If you aren’t with nurses on this issue then we will vote you out.”
The website www.careplanforpa.org/champions allows voters to easily identify candidates in their area who stand with nurses and support safe patient limit laws. Earlier this year, Governor Wolf became the first governor in Pennsylvania history to publicly support safe staffing laws. The Governor also appointed a bedside nurse to the Patient Safety Authority Board, which helps shape hospital care and standards.
Nurses say voters need to know it’s time for change.
“Somedays it feels like we are just barely holding on; our whole teams are stretched,” continued Heverly. “We are in a crisis and it is time to end. This election, we have the opportunity to elect folks who will support safe patient limits and who really stand with nurses.”
Vigils were held Wednesday night in Altoona, State College, and Luzerne.