To improve the quality of health care in the United States, Barbara Boxer recognizes the shortage of nurses nationwide and drafted a bill entitled, “National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act” to address the problem. He said, “by investing in nurses and their training, we can help improve the quality of care in our nation’s hospitals and save the lives of countless patients” (2009, para. 1). This bill intends to ensure that the Public Health Act is amended.
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This is to ensure that the necessary ratio of nurse-to-patient is met at the various hospitals. Consequently, this will go a long way into addressing the current high levels of registered direct-care nurses in hospitals. In addition, the move will also result in an improved nursing environment in a hospital setting. According to Boxer, the design of this bill is such that the minimum number of patient-to-nurse ratio as required in hospitals, shall be realized. Further, the design of the bill also enables investments into the training of nurses. This is to help alleviate the shortage of nurses as well as ensure that their rights are protected (2009, Para. 2).
Since this bill provides a framework for relieving the shortage of nurses, saving lives of the patients, improving the quality of health care, legal protection and increasing nursing professionals (Government Track, 2009, para. 6), it should be adopted to reform the health sector. Section 3105 of the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act outlines the minimum staffing requirements of nurses in a hospital.
Hospitals are expected to implement staffing plans that guarantee quality service to the patients consistent with the requirements of this act. The act stipulates the maximum number of patients a nurse can be assigned to in a hospital. In the development of the staffing plan, a hospital uses an acuity system to determine the ratio of direct care registered nurse-to-patient. This assignment not only ensures that a patient is provided with quality nursing care but also protects the nurse against work overload which may result in compromised services.
Hospitals are expected to carry out an annual evaluation of the staffing plan, update and document their patient requirements based on the national acuity system. Also, the nurses’ performance should be evaluated to provide the required level of service delivery and public confidence. Evaluation reports should be made public and forwarded to the health secretary for monitoring and approval.
In the interest of patients, the secretary of health may alter the nurse-to-patient ratio by increasing the number of patients or adding more nurses if the need arises. Lowering of nurse-to-patient ratio can result in compromised nursing services due to increased work overload in the event of a disease outbreak. The challenge for the nursing staff may be due to intermittent disease outbreaks across the nation, thereby offsetting the nurse-to-patient ratio.
The bill requires that the health secretary should establish a grant program to solicit funds to facilitate the purchase of safe patient handling equipment to comply with the standard procedures of nursing. There is the need for the Secretary of health, along with the director of Quality and Healthcare Research to issue a research directive on the staffing of licensed nurses and how this impacts the care of patients within the hospital. The results are necessary for developing and implementing the bill to keep abreast with the health requirements.
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