Nurse to Patient Ratios

Aiken LH, Sloane DM, Cimiotti JP, Clarke SP, et al. Implications of the California nurse staffing mandate for other states. Health Serv Res. 2010;45(4):904-21.

Spetz J, Harless DW, Herrera CN, Mark BA. Using minimum nurse staffing regulations to measure the relationship between nursing and hospital quality of care. Med Care Res Rev. 2013;70(4):380-99.

It has long been known that increasing the nurse to patient ratios in hospitals saves lives. The patients are happier, the nurses are happier, the physicians are happier. The only ones not happy are the hospital executives, since increasing nurse to patient ratios means hiring more nurses at higher salaries, which reduces the profit margins of the hospitals and the bonuses of its executives. The goal of Nevada laws should be to help the people of the state of Nevada, not out-of-state corporations. Nevada should adopt the same ratios that California has instituted. A special panel can be created to allow exceptions in the event a hospital applies a significantlynew technology that can provide a higher level of care with fewer personnel.

The hospitals claim they cannot staff the hospitals adequately because there is a nursing shortage, so they request that the state invest in the creation of new nursing programs. The reality is that once the nurses graduate and work in Nevada for a few months, they realize they could make a lot more elsewhere, so they leave. (Avg nurse salary in NV: $95,642 vs California $133,340) (Avg nurse to patient ratio on the floor in NV: 6-8 vs CA 4-6).