Last Part of Nurse Staffing Rules Takes Effect in State
Nurses and hospitals remain at odds over state rules that set mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios as the last requirement of the rules takes effect, according to KQED's "California Report" (Goldberg, "California Report," KQED, 1/9).
The new ratios, which began in phases starting in 2004, mandate one nurse for every three patients in transitional units and one nurse for every four patients in telemetry and specialty care units.
Rules applying to telemetry and specialty care units took effect last week (California Healthline, 1/9).
The segment includes comments from:
- Jan Emerson, vice president of the California Hospital Association; and
- Gerry Jenkins, a nurse at UC-San Diego Medical Center ("California Report," KQED, 1/9).