Minnesota nurses are staffing the State Fair again to speak to the same people they care for every day. Patients in Minnesota are at risk, and their safety stands to improve if they’re know how their hospitals are measuring up. Thanks to the work nurses did during the last legislative session, consumers will have more information before deciding where to go for care, and, once they access that, they’ll see the real situation of safety in hospitals.
Nurses are reminding fairgoers that they already have a website where they can check hospital quality for a number of different outcomes. Patients are encouraged to learn that, very soon, they’ll be able to look at the various staffing levels for hospitals in Minnesota. Researchers at the Minnesota Department of Health are also anxious to see this data as they compile a report on the connection between patient outcomes and hospital staffing.
Consumers who are unaware of staffing issues at their local hospital can also learn about resources where they can learn more. They can start by going to safepatientstandard.com
Nurses are handing out rulers that ask consumers if their local hospital measures up and carries the QR code to the safe patient standard website.
Most importantly though, the State Fair is a chance for Minnesotans to hear from nurses how they cope with short staffing issues, why nurses constantly worry about their patient’s safety, and what is and isn’t being done about it in the hospitals in the state. Minnesotans deserve to know how their hospitals are doing. It’ll be an education on a stick.