Nurses union expresses outrage at Senate action

A nurses union expressed outrage today at the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee, which released a version of a bill that according to the union, will allow the state’s hospitals to "continue the dangerous and deadly status quo" in staffing their hospitals.

But according to the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the proposed Senate version of the bill represents a "credible compromise."

In a press release, the nurses union, the Massachusetts Nurses Association, said that the Senate bill removes key provisions achieved through negotiations with legislators and healthcare stakeholders that were contained in a version of the bill that passed the Massachusetts House in May.

According to the nurses' union, the House version would call upon state government to create industry-wide staffing standards and patient limits to assure safe patient care in Massachusetts hospitals, while the new Senate version proposes to keep hospital administrators in charge of setting their own staffing standards.

The Massachusetts Hospital Association, or MHA, a not-for-profit group made up of hospitals and health systems, countered with its own take on the action by the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Association president and chief executive Lynn Nicholas said in a statement: "While MHA is confident that the current hospital staffing is appropriate, and while we have been advocating for a different approach to hospital oversight, the Senate’s proposal is grounded in science, focuses on the need of patients, and recognizes the important contributions of the entire care-giving team. As such, it is a credible compromise that we hope will put this contentious issue behind us and allow us to focus collaboratively on sustaining coverage reform, ensuring high-quality care, and increasing cost effectiveness in delivering care."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)