LD 1639 — the title is deceptive

Nurses deliver an unlimited physique of information and experience to each well being care setting, they usually help sufferers and their communities all through the continuum of life and care.

Nurses make a distinction by influencing and shaping well being care coverage choices that guarantee all folks have entry to high-quality, inexpensive affected person care. Their ability to do that is predicated on the muse of nursing — the nursing course of.

Core to the supply of care is the flexibility to evaluate, plan, implement and consider the situations and wishes of their sufferers. This consists of figuring out one of the best nursing project to satisfy affected person wants. The nursing course of permits nurses as professionals to make choices about staffing that takes in account the distinctive wants and acuity of every affected person.

Presently, there’s a invoice, LD 1639 — “An Act to Tackle Unsafe Staffing of Nurses and Enhance Affected person Care” — that, if handed, would have a detrimental impact on this most trusted occupation and the sufferers and communities they serve.

LD 1639 removes nurse autonomy to make the required choices to offer secure, efficient, high quality care. It basically reduces each affected person and each nurse to only a quantity by mandating nurse-to-patient ratios. These ratios will not be evidenced-based and don’t take into consideration the affected person as a person.

Supporters of this invoice make reference that it will remedy the nursing scarcity.

Establishing ratios received’t create extra nurses, however it should restrict entry to care.

When hospitals are unable to satisfy these ratios, their solely possibility will likely be to cut back mattress capability and switch away sufferers to be able to meet the laws. So as to have extra nurses, efforts must give attention to workforce improvement and addressing the capability at our academic establishments.

Supporters additionally declare that mandated ratios will enhance high quality. There is no such thing as a proof to help that declare. Presently, the well being care supplied in Maine is acknowledged as being within the prime quartile within the nation for high quality and security. In distinction, California, the one state with mandated ratios, sits within the backside quartile for high quality and security.

Being a nurse with over 40 years of expertise, having held certifications in each vital care nursing and emergency nursing, I relied on the abilities I developed and my capability to make use of the nursing course of to greatest meet the wants of my sufferers. Over the course of my profession, I’ve been lucky to have the flexibility to collaborate with the well being care crew and never scale back the sufferers I cared for to only a quantity.

Senate and Home representatives should oppose LD 1639 in order that well being care organizations can proceed to offer entry to care that our communities want.

Margaret McRae of Lewiston is a vp for ambulatory affected person care companies with MaineHealth Medical Group.