California has increased its proposed nurse-to-patient ratios for hospitals in 2008, the state’s
Department of Health Services said in a statement on its Web site.
The state’s revised proposal would require that hospitals
have one nurse for every three patients who have just been
transferred out of intensive care units and a nurse for each four
cancer patients and every four people that require 24-hour
monitoring, according to the statement.
California became the first state to propose mandated nurse-
to-patient ratios last year. The first proposed guidelines called
for one nurse per five cancer patients or every five just leaving
intensive care and one for every six patients that required
constant monitoring.
The earlier recommendations are to go into effect next year.
The proposed guidelines were changed after state health officials
received comments from more than 24,000 people and organizations,
officials said.
Tenet, the second-biggest U.S. hospital company after HCA
Inc., and rivals have said the California measure will exacerbate a national shortage of nurses.
California health officials did not immediately return calls
seeking comment.
Bloomberg News
