For: June 6, 2023
Contact: Astine Suleimanyan, (818) 298-0492
Letter signed by twenty-six Senators and Assemblymembers cites unsafe staffing as “key cause” of nursing burnout crisis; calls on department to ramp up inspections.
Sacramento, CA – Legislators instructed the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to enforce laws that require hospitals to follow nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, in an official letter sent to the department on Tuesday. The letter, authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and signed by twenty-five other members of the Assembly and Senate, calls on the department to act within its oversight capacity in holding hospitals accountable to the law.
The legislators’ directive specifically calls for full enforcement of Senate Bill 227 (SB 227), a 2019 law which requires that CDPH investigate staffing ratio violations codified under Title 22, and which authorizes the department to impose fines up to $30,000 per instance for repeated violations. Enforcement of SB227 was paused after the COVID-19 State of Emergency was declared in California in March 2020. The emergency order expired on February 28, 2023.
Lawmakers instructed CDPH Director Tomas Aragon to respond with a plan of action demonstrating the department’s intent to enforce the law, as well as a commitment to provide training and resources to evaluators who conduct hospital investigations.
Signatories to the letter include legislators who serve on both the Senate and Assembly Health and Appropriations committees, which have funding and oversight responsibilities with respect to CDPH. The letter was also signed by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood), and Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who will take over as Speaker in 2024.
Nationwide, registered nurses are leaving the profession at a rapid rate, studies reveal. Nurses have cited the effect of poor hospital staffing on patient care as a significant reason in their decision to quit, surveys show.
“Nurses are paramount to our entire healthcare system, and we should be adamant about supporting them the same way they support doctors and patients each day,” said Holden. “For these workers, the crisis didn’t end with the settling of the COVID pandemic. This is a nationwide healthcare crisis, but in California we already have a solution—we simply need to enforce the safe staffing laws that are already in place. It is on us as leaders to require that these laws be enforced and that there be repercussions if these rights are violated. We cannot leave nurses with the impossible task of trying to protect themselves while caring for the ill and injured.”
The call for enforcement of SB227 stems from a campaign led by SEIU 121RN, a labor union that represents nurses and licensed healthcare professionals throughout Southern California. The union staged a rally at a the CDPH office in Ventura county to mark the expiration of the COVID-19 emergency order, an event they said should have triggered action on the part of the department.
“These laws were designed to protect public safety, and they were meant to be followed,” said Rosanna Mendez, Executive Director of SEIU 121RN. “No hospital should be above the law, and nurses who advocate for their patients should not be subjected to retaliation.”
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SEIU Local 121RN represents registered nurses and other healthcare professionals in California. This member-led organization is committed to supporting optimum working conditions that allow nurses to provide quality patient care and safety.