We’re Telling Our Legislators: Safe Staffing Standards Can’t Wait
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After supporting our communities through three years of a pandemic, staffing in our hospitals is worse than ever. We know we don’t have a shortage of healthcare workers; we have a shortage of healthcare workers who are willing to work in these conditions. That’s why we’re calling on the legislature to pass a comprehensive law that puts patient safety and healthcare workers first.
Senate Bill 5236 calling for safe staffing standards was introduced in the Washington State legislature and had its first public hearing Jan. 17. The bill includes:
Safe staffing standards including maximum patient assignments
Adequate enforcement of staffing laws
Expanded protections for overtime and breaks
Protecting our rights to staffing committees and expanding them to be inclusive of the entire care team
Healthcare workers’ voices are critical!
Email your legislator. As constituents and union members, we know that direct communication with our elected representatives is one of the most effective ways to advocate for change. Send a message using our online advocacy tool:
IN OLYMPIA:
The state Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce heard public testimony in support of SB 5236
“Less than one year ago I provided testimony on HB 1868 hoping this state would pass a law ensuring nurses and patients had safe healthcare environments – instead, staffing got worse. Not because this state isn’t educating enough nurses. The shortage is not nurses, the shortage is safe work environments. No amount of money can keep nurses repeatedly experiencing moral injury and burnout.” - Kelli Johnson, RN, Providence Regional Medical Center, Everett
“I have served on the staffing committee at our hospital for many years and have chaired that committee for the last year and a half. I am here to tell you it is infuriating to sit in committee month after month, year after year and see how our staffing guidelines are breached every single day on many units a day leaving nurses in untenable, dangerous and heartbreaking situations.” - Nonie Kingma, RN, Sacred Heart Hospital, Spokane
“Implementing safe staffing standards in every Washington hospital is the one thing that will make patient care safe again and keep healthcare workers like me at the bedside. Patient care is devastated, and that’s devastating for those of us at the bedside. Where I work, folks’ fingers are on the send button to resign. They are ready to move to outpatient care, retire — frankly, anything else. This bill makes working in a hospital safe again. This bill is what will keep and bring healthcare workers back to the beside.” - Melissa Swetland Leaptrot, RN, St. Anne Hospital, Burien
