STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATION OF HEALTHCARE STAFFING

WHEREAS, staffing in many of our hospitals and health facilities has been cut to dangerously low levels; and

WHEREAS, there is currently no recognized standard for appropriate staffing levels in hospitals and health facilities; and

WHEREAS, in states where legally mandated hospital staffing levels do exist they are often arbitrary and inadequate; and

WHEREAS, most states do not require hospitals and health facilities to collect information on staffing levels, therefore making it impossible to demonstrate the relationship between low staffing levels and negative patient outcomes:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers advocate that each state pass legislation that would mandate the collection and public disclosure of information required to evaluate the relationship between staffing and patient outcomes; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT press that reasonable and appropriate mandatory staffing levels for hospitals and other healthcare facilities should be established in each state to ensure patient safety and adequate quality of patient care.