Letter: Vote Yes on Ballot Question 1
By Canton CitizenDear Editor:
I am a registered nurse of 30 years and work at Norwood Hospital. I have worked in the Emergency Department of my hospital for the past 20 of those years. I would like to respond to the comments by the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess-Milton in last week’s Canton Citizen (“BID-Milton voices opposition to Question 1”) and to set the record straight.
What Question 1 will do is put a limit on the number of patients a nurse takes care of at one time in the hospital setting. Right now there is no such limit; it could be upwards of eight patients, depending on a variety of factors, including which hospital you are in. This bill was written by bedside nurses for our patients. Our message is clear and simple: We want to be able to give better and safer care to our patients. Having too many patients at one time leads to medical errors (which may be life threatening), hospital-acquired infections (which could have been avoided), increased readmission rates (which hospitals don’t get reimbursed for if a patient is readmitted within 30 days of discharge), and even patient death.
This bill is not rigid; it’s flexible depending on the needs of the patient. The nurses would actually have a place at the table in this, which we currently do not have (despite what the ‘no’ campaign says now). We’ve been to the legislature, we’ve sat on nursing committees at all of our hospitals for two decades, and we’re told time and time again, “Do the best you can.” We’re done with that. Our patients deserve better, and this is the time to make this a reality.
All of the hospitals in Massachusetts make a profit and they can afford this. Most are part of large hospital systems. Their profits are available online and you can find them on CHIA. All of the events and forums we’ve been speaking and debating at have involved nurses, or rather nurse executives (who comprise the ‘no’ campaign), saying they are already following these ratios now. So why, then, will this be a hardship for you? Doesn’t every patient in Massachusetts deserve safe patient care no matter what hospital you are in? Please learn more about ‘Yes on 1’ at safepatientlimits.org. Please vote yes on Question 1 on November 6.
Kathy Reardon
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=43722
Posted by Canton Citizen
on Oct 26 2018. Filed under From One Citizen to Another, Opinion.
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