Join the movement to put PATIENTS, not profits, first.
​The Michigan Nurses Association is calling for a set of Michigan laws, called the Safe Patient Care Act, to protect all our loved ones by limiting the number of patients a nurse can be assigned. The law would also limit mandatory RN overtime that compromises patients' care and require hospitals to disclose their actual RN-to-patient ratios.
We all deserve better.
Believe it or not, there is no law that limits the number of hospital patients a Registered Nurse can be assigned to care for at one time. There's also no law that limits the hours a nurse can be forced to work.
This puts patients in danger; when Registered Nurses are stretched too thin or forced to work past the point of exhaustion, they can't give each patient the professional care they need. Years of reliable research have established the link between understaffed nursing shifts and increased patient infections, falls, medication errors and even preventable deaths.
Momentum is Building for the ​Safe Patient Care Act!
This bipartisan Michigan Safe Patient Care Act, which has more than 65 sponsors and cosponsors - more than ever before - will save lives and help keep RNs at the bedside by:
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Limiting the number of patients a nurse can be assigned so everyone receives safe, quality care (House bill 4550, Senate bill 334)
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Ending the rampant use of forced RN overtime so nurses are rested and can properly care for patients (HB 4551, SB 335); and
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Requiring hospitals to disclose to the public their actual RN-to-patient ratios so consumers can make informed decisions (HB 4552, SB 336).
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Trinity Health Grand Haven MNA nurses show their support for the Safe Patient Care Act. Nurses across the state are coming together to push for this life-saving legislation.