FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/September 26, 1996 CONTACT: Sara Foer [202-651-7023]; TIME Magazine Covers "De-skilling" of Hospital WorkforceWASHINGTON, DC --An article in the September 30 issue of Time Magazine, covers a growing trend in today's market-driven, cost focused health care system where registered nurses are replaced with unlicensed, minimally trained technicians, often with negative, even tragic consequences for patients. The article, "The New Hands-Off Nursing" appears on p.56-57 in the September 30 issue of the magazine. National media interest such as this has been stimulated by the American Nurses Association and its state nurses associations which have been tracking this disturbing and growing trend. Through the "Every Patient Deserves a Nurse" public education campaign, ANA has worked vigorously for more than two years to call public, media and policymakers' attention to this short-sighted approach to cutting costs, where patient safety and quality of care are often sacrificed in the name of profits. ANA's efforts have resulted in the introduction of federal legislation, "The Patient Safety Act of 1996." Introduced on April 30 by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), the bill mandates that hospitals make public information about nurse staffing and patient outcomes and includes "whistleblower" protections for nurses who speak out against unsafe care. A consumer survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates released earlier this year found that 75 % of the respondents believed that reducing the number of registered nurses who provide bedside care lowers quality of care.
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