D.C., Minn. lawmakers consider mandating hospital nurse-patient ratios

The measures would force hospitals to maintain lower nurse-to-patient ratios to try to reduce workload on nurses and to provide better care. Hospitals say the moves would be too expensive.

Kaiser Health News: D.C. Hospitals And Nurses Fight Over Staffing Ratios
Hospital administrators in Washington, D.C., are furiously lobbying against a bill modeled on a California law that would require them to maintain a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio at all times" (Schultz, 2/22).

Pioneer Press: Nurse Staffing Standards Pass Partisan Test In Minnesota House
The push to mandate nurse staffing levels in Minnesota hospitals appears to be developing into a partisan battle at the Capitol. DFLers and Republicans lined up on opposite sides of a bill to enforce staffing standards as the legislation cleared its first committee hurdle by a 9-6 vote Thursday, Feb. 21. The bill does not specify particular nurse-to-patient ratios. It instead would direct medical centers to implement staffing standards set by professional societies or a group appointed by the state health commissioner (Snowbeck, 2/21).