The Standards of Care Act (HF588) passed the full Minnesota House of Representatives 73-58 earlier this afternoon. There was bipartisan support for our bill to require the Department of Health to study the correlation between staffing and patient outcomes and hospitals to report their staffing quarterly to the public. Can you take a moment to thank our author and champion Representative Joe Atkins? He has gone to the mat for nurses over and over again because he believes us when we say there is a patient safety crisis in Minnesota. His email is rep.joe.atkins@house.mn.
The bill still has to clear one more committee in the Senate. That hearing has not yet been scheduled.
We can’t rest yet. We need to reach out to members of the Senate who are still undecided on the bill. Even if you have already contacted your state senator, please reach out again. If you haven’t already, tell your senator why we need to address staffing in Minnesota hospitals and ask for their support.
Contact your state senator today to ask for support of strong consumer transparency language, nurse staffing reporting and a comprehensive study that gathers real data about the correlation between staffing and health outcomes.
Click here to use the MNA Grassroots Action Center to send an email.
Let your senator know:
· That you’re a nurse
· Why it is important to shine a light on the correlation between staffing and health outcomes
· Why better nurse staffing matters to you and your patients