Bill > HB179

This bill, titled the "Patient Safe Staffing Act," mandates that hospitals establish nursing staffing committees composed of eleven members, including seven nurses who provide direct patient care and four other qualified individuals. These committees will be responsible for developing and annually reviewing staffing plans for each hospital unit, which must specify the minimum number of nurses and ancillary staff (such as certified nurse assistants and unit secretaries) needed per shift based on patient care intensity and patient flow, while also considering factors like rural hospital needs and ensuring adequate nurse orientation. The committees will also select outcome indicators to monitor unit performance and determine staffing levels by majority vote, requiring hospitals to adopt an algorithm for maintaining these levels, which may necessitate hiring more nurses, and prohibiting the use of mandated overtime to meet staffing requirements. The act also grants nurses the right to refuse assignments if they lack the necessary education, training, or experience, or if the assignment falls outside their scope of practice. Hospitals will be required to post daily reports in each unit detailing patient census, planned staffing, and actual staffing levels, and to submit quarterly reports to the Department of Health (DOH) for public disclosure on its website, which will also include information on admissions, discharges, and transfers. The DOH is tasked with prescribing the format for these reports, ensuring their public accessibility, auditing the data, enforcing compliance through penalties, and promulgating necessary rules. Furthermore, the bill includes whistleblower protection for employees who raise concerns about staffing or reporting issues, and appropriates $100,000 to the DOH for fiscal year 2017 to support these duties, including website expenses.