California Lags in Nurse-to-Resident Ratio Despite Increase in Nursing School Graduates

California recently received a ‘D’ grade for its ratio of working registered nurses to state residents.

According to the California Institute for Nursing & Health Care report card, the state averages 644 working registered nurses per 100,000 residents, about half the number recommended for an ‘A’ grade from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics.

In a California Healthline Special Report by Mina Kim, experts discuss the state’s nurse-to-resident ratio and the effect it could have on patient care.

The Special Report includes comments from:

Deloras Jones, executive director of CINHC;
Pamela Lassetter, assistant director of the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board; and
DeAnn McEwen, a member of the California Nurses Association’s Council of Presidents (Kim, California Healthline, 2/15).

The complete transcript of this report is available as a PDF.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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<h1>California Lags in Nurse-to-Resident Ratio Despite Increase in Nursing School Graduates</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2012-02-15T00:00:00-08:00">
			February 15, 2012		</time>
		</div>
<p>California recently received a ‘D’ grade for its ratio of working registered nurses to state residents. </p><p>According to the California Institute for Nursing & Health Care report card, the state averages 644 working registered nurses per 100,000 residents, about half the number recommended for an ‘A’ grade from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. </p><p>In a <i>California Healthline </i>Special Report by Mina Kim, experts discuss the state’s nurse-to-resident ratio and the effect it could have on patient care. </p><p>The Special Report includes comments from: </p><ul><li>Deloras Jones, executive director of CINHC;</li><li>Pamela Lassetter, assistant director of the Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board; and</li><li>DeAnn McEwen, a member of the California Nurses Association’s Council of Presidents (Kim, <i>California Healthline</i>, 2/15). </li></ul><p>The complete transcript of this report is <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2012/02/chlspecialreporttranscript021512.pdf">available as a PDF</a>. </p><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us/">KFF</a>.</p><h3>USE OUR CONTENT</h3><p>This story can be republished for free (<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/california-lags-in-nursetoresident-ratio-despite-increase-in-nursing-school-graduates/view/republish/">details</a>).</p><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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