As a registered nurse in Connecticut — one who graduated in 2019 shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic made its boisterous presence — I have seen firsthand the detrimental effects that inadequate staffing and unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios can have on the health of your loved ones.
A nurse-to-patient ratio refers to the amount of patients one nurse is assigned to care for in a given shift. Working at the bedside has exposed me to the anger and dissatisfaction patients and their support systems experience when they feel their loved one is not getting the care they deserve in a timely manner. I am here to tell you, your anger is warranted. What I also hope to convey is that the emotion and distaste you are projecting toward me should be aimed at the Connecticut state legislature. We need to make a change, and we are tired of waiting.
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Appropriate nursing staff not only would achieve clinical and economic improvements in patient care, it would decrease nurse fatigue and burnout. Burnout occurs when the stress of the job causes physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. The recommended nurse-to-patient ratio for an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse is ideally a 1:1 ratio, or a 1:2 ratio depending on the patient. This means a nurse would be caring for one patient in a perfect world, but typically no more than two.
How would you feel if I told you the person you care for residing in the ICU is being cared for by a highly experienced, motivated, caring nurse? How would you feel if I told you that the same nurse is also caring for two to three other extremely sick patients? The truth of the matter is that this is not just a hypothetical situation. It is happening in real-time and closer to home than you may think.
Unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios have been statistically shown to increase patient mortality. Let me say it again. Inadequate staffing increases the probability of your family or friend dying. Research performed at Illinois-based hospitals shows that the odds of 30-day mortality for each patient increased 16% for each additional patient in the average nurse’s workload.
Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill into law effective October 1 of this year. Under Public Act 23-204, CT hospitals must create a dedicated staffing committee to develop nurse staffing plans. Hospitals that fail to comply can face penalties.
[Related: Hospital staffing proposal gets overhaul in state budget]
This bill is a small step in a very long staircase. Nowhere in this bill does it mention mandating specific staffing ratios. Until nurses and patients are protected from unsafe situations by the state, the battle is not over.
To anyone reading this, whether involved in healthcare or not, I urge you to fight for mandated nurse ratios. This would mean that legally, every hospital in Connecticut would be required by law to implement specific nurse-to-patient ratios in each hospital, leading to improved patient outcomes and decreased nurse burnout.
Kristin Henry of Glastonbury is a registered nurse and graduate student at the University of Connecticut.