After weeks of negotiations, Oregon’s hospital industry and key nurses unions have reached an historic compromise on legislation around health care staffing.
The Oregon Nurses Association, two other unions and the statewide hospital group reached a consensus Tuesday on House Bill 2697 which would impose nurse-to-patient ratios when staffing most hospital settings.
If passed, the patient ratios would be “first-in-the-nation in state statute,” said Alan Dubinsky, spokesperson for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49.
“What it means for patients in Oregon is that you will see an improved quality in patient care,” Dubinsky said, “because certified nursing assistances and registered nurses will be able to spend more time taking care of their patients and will have more people on staff.”
The bill is scheduled for a vote by the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care on April 3.
House Bill 2697 has four chief sponsors, all Democrats. They include a nurse, Rep. Travis Nelson of Portland, and Rep. Rob Nosse of Portland who chairs the committee.
Earlier this year, Nosse directed the unions and hospital industry association to negotiate a compromise, saying the bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation this session.
Nosse’s committee heard a presentation about the compromise on Tuesday. The amendments will be drafted and shared with the health care committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.
"This legislation is truly historic. Oregon will become the first state in the nation to have nurse-to-patient ratios codified in state statute,” Tamie Cline, RN, president of the ONA Board of Directors said in a statement. “Simply put, this legislation, once passed, will be the high-water mark for safe staffing across the country, and will also help to significantly address the staffing crisis facing nurses and patients here in Oregon."
In a joint news release issued late Tuesday, the nurses unions and hospital group announced they had reached a consensus on amendments to the bill.
“We’re grateful for the collective efforts that led to this agreement,” Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems President Becky Hultberg said in the release. “The bill supports our hardworking frontline staff and reduces many of the administrative burdens hospitals currently face.”
