Fewer AIDS patients died on wards where there were more nurses, according to a study published in the journal Medical Care in August. To be sure, there are many hospitals where nurses are satisfied with staffing. Hospital industry leaders say the quality of patient care remains high, although they don't dispute that nursing is tough work. But I do not believe there are very many places in America where patient safety or quality of care is in serious question. Yet, if nothing else, trust is suffering.
Patients feel unsafe.
But results from those efforts won't be ready for about another year. Last line of defense Joann Webster didn't need a study to convince her. For 29 days. She was glad she did. Aides rarely had a second person to assist in turning her mother.