Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1293502
42 NURSING SPOTLIGHT Union says state estimate of $4.7B a year to implement new nurse staffing ratios is 'wildly overstated' By Kelly Gooch A union representing more than 42,000 nurses criticized a state health department report that pro- jected mandating minimum staffing levels would cost New York hospitals and nursing homes up to $4.7 billion annually and create demand for nearly 70,000 additional health- care workers. e New York State Nurses Association issued a statement Aug. 18 saying the report's methodology is "fatally flawed" and that projections of the economic impact of minimum staffing standards are "wildly overstated." e union also claimed that the report does not incorporate key lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. e report concluded that mandating mini- mum staffing levels would cost an additional $1.8 billion to $2.4 billion annually for hospitals and between $1.9 billion and $2.3 billion dollars for nursing homes. e report also concluded that mandating minimum nurse staffing levels would create demand for 24,779 more registered nurses and licensed practical nurses in hospitals and 45,158 more nurses and other staff in nursing homes. "Even under current staffing levels, third-party research study projections of available nursing workforce differ as to whether there will be enough nurse staff to fill available positions in the future," the report stated, while also noting the challenge with the analysis due to limited data avail- able on the state's nurse workforce. e state health department advocated for a comprehensive workforce development ap- proach that helps ensure "flexibility to allow providers to align workforce capacity with patient and resident needs in a dynamic, continually evolving delivery system." "Unfortunately, as COVID-19 demonstrates, establishing a guaranteed level of staffing care in every hospital across the state is literally a matter of life and death," Pat Kane, RN, executive director of the New York State Nurses Association, said in a news release. "e department of health's shoddy report is a slap in the face to frontline nurses who sacrificed so much during this crisis. Safe staffing could have saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if the legislature is willing to act on real research, there's still time to improve New York's capacity to respond to a resurgence of the virus." Legislation related to mandated nurse staffing ratios has been debated in New York state for years, and the health department was tapped to study the issue, according to the Times Union. While the union has supported mandated ratios based on unit and type of care, hospi- tals argue such ratios are inflexible to meet hospital needs and would increase costs, potentially resulting in cuts to services, the newspaper reported. n Nearly 17% of nurse practitioners furloughed due to COVID-19 & 5 other survey findings By Kelly Gooch N early 17 percent of nurse practitioners have been furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 4 percent were still furloughed at the end of July, according to a national survey from the American Associ- ation of Nurse Practitioners. The survey is based on data collected from July 28 to Aug. 9 among a sample of 4,038 association member nurse practitioners. Respondents self-identified as work- ing across a variety of specialty, acute and primary care work settings, including office-based group practices, hospital inpatient units and outpatient clinics, federally qualified health centers, urgent care centers and Veterans Affairs facilities. Five other survey findings: 1. About 40 percent of respondents reported decreases to their overall income, and 31 percent reported decreas- es in hours worked. 2. Nearly 15 percent of respondents had applied for unemployment benefits since the beginning of the pan- demic. Eight percent applied for personal loans; and 58 percent looked for other nurse practitioner positions. 3. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said they experi- enced significant delays in receiving patients' COVID-19 test results. 4. Five percent of respondents reported testing positive for COVID-19 between the beginning of the pandemic and the end of July. 5. Eighteen percent of respondents said they were going without necessary personal protective equipment. n