FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/May 7, 1997 CONTACT: Sara Foer [202/651-7023]; Joan Meehan [202/651-7020] Patient Advocates Speak out about Unsafe Care and Whistle-blowing RetributionWASHINGTON, D.C., May 7, 1997 -- The care provided in hospitals today is deteriorating, often due to cutbacks in the numbers of registered nurses (RNs) and the increased use of unlicensed personnel for patient care, and RNs who report harmful staffing decisions are often ignored or terminated, according to announcements yesterday by the American Nurses Association (ANA). "As the professional association representing the nation's registered nurses, ANA is concerned that too few people truly understand and recognize the value of RNs," stated ANA President Beverly L. Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN. "A decade of research shows...that when there are more RNs, patients experience fewer complications, lower readmission rates, fewer deaths, and this means overall lower costs." Advocates Speak Out at Media BriefingAt a media briefing in Washington, D.C., Cincinnati resident Jack Strunk conveyed his shock and anger when his wife died five days after a routine hysterectomy because the unlicensed hospital aides assigned to her post-operative care failed to identify an internal infection. Testifying emotionally to the need for adequate nursing care, he asserted that cuts to nursing staff to save money must end. "As she deteriorated and I questioned her pain and suffering, I was constantly reassured by people I thought were registered nurses, knowledgeable, trained people, that she was fine and this was normal," Strunk recalled. "Only technicians were caring for my wife and what she was experiencing wasn't normal. I am here to represent my wife who can't be here because the hospital put the dollar above her care." Washington, D.C., resident Cynthia Paddock shared her own tragic story with reporters. While hospitalized following a surgical procedure, she suffered permanent brain damage because a local hospital was short-staffed and floated an RN to an Intensive Care Unit without providing adequate orientation and training. "My story is important because it shows how nursing care can make a difference and both the nurse and I are the victims in this situation," said Paddock. It was just this type of situation that Boston nurse Barry Adams, RN, who also spoke at the briefing, sought to avoid. He has sued his former employer for unlawful termination after he continued to speak up about harmful care and short-staffing. "I came here today out of my concern about the message that is sent when registered nurses are fired after speaking out about the safety of their patients," Adams said. "We are expected to act as patient advocates, yet the law provides no recourse for speaking out for the best interests of patients." ANA Calls for Public ActionPublic education on this issue has been a priority for ANA since 1994 when the association launched Nursing's Safety and Quality Initiative. This campaign urges the public and policy makers to push for changes in America's health care system that will put patient care first. ANA also is collecting and measuring data to further demonstrate the link between RN care and positive patient outcomes. Fewer patient complications, the group argues, result in the lower costs that hospitals -- and those who pay for care -- seek. But, to achieve lower overall costs while preserving safe, quality patient care, facilities must first employ a sufficient number of registered nurses necessary to provide direct bedside care. "Today, we have seen that one of the biggest problems in health care has to do with the cheaper, minimally skilled workers...who are placed at the hospital bedside," stated ANA Executive Director Geri Marullo, MSN, RN. "We heard all too clearly today from Jack Strunk, Cynthia Paddock, and Barry Adams that a discount' approach to care may boost the bottom lines of hospitals and insurance companies in the short-term, but it does so at the long-term expense of patients and their families." In addition, ANA released findings from a research study which provides hard evidence that patient outcomes are directly related to nursing staff numbers. Most notably, the study found that shorter lengths of stay were strongly related to higher nurse staffing per acuity-adjusted day and that patient morbidity indicators for preventable conditions -- such as pressure ulcers, pneumonia, postoperative infections and urinary tract infections -- were inversely related to registered nurse skill mix. Specifically, the researchers collected 1992 to 1994 data from 502 hospitals in California, Massachusetts, and New York to quantify nurse staffing and patient incidents and lengths of stay at the hospitals, as well as the relationship between these variables, with the aim of statistically testing the relationships between nurse staffing and specific patient outcome indicators as well as assessing the feasibility of capturing the information necessary to develop specific nurse staffing and outcome measures for hospitals with acceptable degrees of reliability and validity. The ANA commissioned study, Implementing Nursing's Report Card: A Study of RN Staffing, Length of Stay and Patient Outcomes, was conducted by Network Inc., an independent health care and hospital consulting and research firm. ANA believes that a better informed public can play a large role in changing the environment that allows these incidents to happen. Through major newspaper advertisements, brochures, and political grassroots activities, the association is asking all Americans to:
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRYTips for Better Hospital Care
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