L.D. 1639, the nurse staffing bill before the Maine Legislature, is a bad deal for our state. Although enforcing strict nurse-to-patient ratios sounds ideal, it could force health care facilities that couldn’t comply to close beds or divert ambulances.
Not only is there a nursing shortage nationwide, right now, and no evidence that strict staffing ratios improve patient care, the bill seems like the solution to a problem that doesn’t exist in Maine – which ranks highly compared to the rest of the country when it comes to the quality of our health care.
Since the current staffing regime in Maine’s hospitals, based on patient condition rather than arbitrary state mandates, is apparently working (and allows for flexibility in their staffing); and since rural hospitals, in particular, already struggle to keep their doors open, let’s not let the perfect – ideal staffing-ratio mandates – be the enemy of the good.
Melodie Greene
Calais
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.