Results for patients also have been disastrous. Industry attempts to limit admissions and reduce costs have forced many patients to seek the ER as their only means of access to a hospital bed of any kind. California ERs now account for almost 34 percent of all hospital admissions statewide. And hospital-based errors leading to the deaths of up to 98,000 Americans every year have become a national scandal. Notably, the Institute of Medicine, which produced the findings, studied every conceivable variable except RN staffing ratios and deteriorating patient care conditions to explain the shocking numbers.
Patients are sicker than ever, and there are fewer RNs at the bedside.
Some states, such as New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, have experienced steadily declining numbers of full-time RNs, coupled with a rising uninsured population. In Maryland, the nursing shortage is reaching epidemic proportions. We're headed for a crisis. Maryland hospitals are suffering nurse vacancy rates of 10 percent to 12 percent, with some hospitals facing a 20 percent shortage. The Professional Staff Nurses Association of Maryland, which represents nurses in six of the state's 55 institutions, reports that complaints on unsafe assignments or mistakes have doubled since the beginning of the new year.