Nurses and Supporters at Town Hall say New Jersey Needs Safe Staffing Ratios in Union Contracts and in a NJ Law

Unionized healthcare workers, legislators and advocates addressed the need to negotiate safe staffing in union contracts and pass the “Patient Protection and Safe Staffing Act,” (S.2700/A.3683) into a law mandating safe patient-to-staff ratios in New Jersey hospitals.

HPAE President Debbie White, RN, applauded nurses and healthcare workers who are currently negotiating with hospital administrators for safe staffing ratios in their contracts. Additionally, she highlighted the growing support for the “Patient Protection and Safe Staffing Act” (S2700/A3683) mandating safe patient-to-staff ratios in New Jersey hospitals. The legislation is sponsored by Senator Vitale and Assemblywomen Quijano and Murphy.

“Two decades of research shows understaffing in hospitals leads to increases in negative patient outcomes such as readmissions, hospital acquired infections, and death,” White said. “New Jersey can solve this staffing crisis. New Jersey healthcare workers need staffing ratios in their contracts and policymakers must pass a NJ law. That is how we are going to improve patient care and to stop the exodus of hospital workers.”

White introduced Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, co-prime sponsor of A.3683 to a room of cheering workers and supporters.

“Safeguarding our nurses, healthcare workers, and patients with safe staffing protections is vital to ensuring the sustainability of our healthcare industry. Lower staffing ratios allows for our nurses to provide higher quality care, while ensuring their career’s longevity. The benefits of lower staffing ratios are tremendous and we must fight for the Patient Protection and Safe Staffing Act to ensure our nurses and healthcare workers receive these protections they desperately need,” Murphy added.

White also introduced Rolanda Robinson, a nurse and a member of HPAE Local 5118 at Cooper University Health Care.

“When you yourself are shorthanded,” said Robinson, a Registered Nurse at Cooper University Health Care’s Medical Surgical Unit, “it raises your own level of anxiety. It’s the perfect storm, we need to stop the hemorrhaging of staff from our hospitals.”

Most of her colleagues, she said, operate on high anxiety, especially the night before a shift when they know they’re going to be shorthanded.

“I can honestly say most of us do not sleep well because you don’t know if you’re going to have enough nurses, or enough ancillary staff,” Robinson added.

Tiffany Powell, RN, Medical Surgical Nurse at Cooper University Health Care said what healthcare workers experience daily on the job causes them moral injury.

“The overriding factor in mine and my colleagues’ work life is having to work shorthanded, understaffed, not having enough hands to care for the patients that we need to care for,” Powell said. “There’s just no reason to ration out care, as we are forced to do, literally every minute of every day of our work lives. It makes you seem more heartless as a person, shocks your conscience, shakes your moral foundation.”

White concluded the event presenting a Petition to Assemblywoman Murphy signed by 750 community members supporting healthcare workers negotiating and advocating for safe staffing in union contracts and a NJ law.

For more information, contact: Bridget Devane, (732) 996-5493, bdevane@hpae.org

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