Hundreds of nurses marched from theLansing Center to the state Capitol Wednesday. They want to urge the legislature tointroduce a Safe Patient Care Act.
Nurses from around the state chanted, “What do we want? Safe staffing! When do we want it? Now!” on the steps of the Capitol.
Sarah Hodges is in nursing school and works as a nursing assistant. She says nurses love their patients and want to be able to give them the care they need.
“With nurses having so many patients, it’s putting the patients at risk because we don’t have the time, the resources to take proper care of them, and it’s actually putting them at risk,” she said.
The nurses advocated for a Patient Safety Act that would limit mandatory overtime, limit the number of patients a nurse can be assigned, and increase reporting requirements of the nurse-to-patient ratio.
Similar efforts have failed in the past.
Donna Heinrich from Traverse City has been a nurse for about 34 years. She says worn-out nurses can make mistakes.
“We’re losing so many nurses in our profession because they’re getting burn out and they’re emotionally disconnected,” she said. “They’re exhausted from taking care of too many patients.”
Democrats Senator Rebekah Warren and Representative Jon Hoadley are currently in the final stages of putting together a Safe Patient Care Act. Warren says they hope to introduce the legislation before the end of the month.
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—Cheyna Roth is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
