Have you ever been forced to take on more patients than mandated by state law?
Have you been required to care for patients or float to a unit without the proper competencies?
Have you or someone you know been assigned as a Charge Nurse AND given a patient load?
Does your hospital staff mixed units at the proper staffing level for patient acuity in accordance with the law?
Since California’s landmark nurse staffing laws were enacted in 1999 and regulations were developed by the state Department of Public Health, employers have consistently found ways to get around specific nurse-to-patient ratios at general acute care hospitals and other healthcare facilities. It has now become common practice for nurses to be asked to accept numerous assignments that violate the nurse staffing laws and jeopardize patient safety.
Assembly Bill 1102 would increase the penalties when employers retaliate against a nurse who uses the whistle blower laws to report unsafe assignments that violate Title 22.
Let's hold hospitals accountable by increasing fines for hospitals and management from $20,000 to $75,000.