Maine nurses urge Gov. Mills to support bill mandating patient ratios
PORTLAND (WGME) – Maine nurses held signs outside Maine Medical Center reading, "Safe staffing saves lives,” Thursday.
It was a message directed to Governor Janet Mills ahead of a House vote in the coming days.
Hundreds of nurses signed a letter asking Mills to support mandated nurse-to-patient ratios.
A bill passed by the Senate with bipartisan support is now heading to the House.
It would set a maximum number of patients a nurse can take on, depending on the department.
For example, in an ICU setting, a nurse said it would create a limit of two patients in her care, instead of the four she is currently managing.
"What they're experiencing right now is basically what we call ‘assembly line nursing,’ Registered Nurse Janel Crowley said. “You go in, you pass meds, you do your assessment, you move on to the next patient, because you don't have time to focus on each individual patient."
Those with the Maine State Nurses Association say ratios will lower patient deaths and readmission rates and prevent leaving patients in hospital beds alone for hours at a time.
MaineHealth has come out against mandated ratios. It says it takes away divvying power among nurses who know how many patients they can handle and will only keep more patients in the hospital waiting room.
"I hope that it is rejected and that we are able to maintain our own decisions on staffing,” MaineHealth Chief Nursing Officer Sharon Baughman said. “I'm very worried about access to care. If the bill passes, we'll see more patients are going to need to wait in the ED."
Nurses say they need the governor's support for this bill to pass the House.
The CBS13 I-Team reached out to her administration Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson from her office pointed us to testimony provided last year indicating the administration opposes the bill.
They cited ongoing, significant workforce challenges that have persisted from the COVID pandemic.