We'll be in a hospital bed at some point and we want to know that there are people available, qualified professionals, nurses that are able and ready to answer the button, answer the call when we are in need. Hospital managers bristle at the idea that their staffing decisions negatively affect patient care. Bonnie Driggers with OHSU says it's rare that her nurses work more than 16 hours. And she says there is a system in place to deal with shortages. You can't compare our staffing to other hospitals in town and there is no question that our staffing is safe.
Hospitals plan to fight the nursing measure in the legislature, calling it unnecessary.
Ed Patterson, with the Oregon Association of Hospitals, says a year ago, the Oregon Health Division instituted new staffing rules, which require nurse input in staffing level decisions. He says it's not an issue state lawmakers should get into. I mean, can you imagine trying to do that for Intel or Nike or Hewlett Packard, or whomever. And while the nurses have a friend in the Speaker of the House, the hospitals have the support of the Republican Senate President Gene Derfler. For me, that is a management decision.