Ohio nurses push for safe staffing ratios in 'Code Red' campaign

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Nurse staffing shortages have been a challenge in healthcare for years, and was only made worse by the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to staffing issues that are still pervasive in the state, the Ohio Nurses Association has launched an advocacy campaign called "Code Red" in an effort to promote safer staffing ratios.

The campaign will focus on a number of strategic areas, including safe staffing, working conditions, attracting and retaining bedside workers and maintaining dignity in nurses' work.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Robert Weitzel, president of the Ohio Nurses Association, cited statistics from the Ohio Board of Nursing showing that 100,000 registered nurses in the U.S. have left the healthcare workforce because of the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, and many more have indicated they may leave by 2027.

Workforce challenges are having negative impacts on patient outcomes, he said.

"Nurses must play a critical role in advocating for safe staffing ratios," said Weitzel. "We have to leverage employers and lawmakers to establish these ratios."

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

According to Ohio Nurses Association interim CEO Kelly Nedrow, the staffing and patient care crisis in the state was exacerbated by the pandemic – but it didn't begin there. Nedrow called healthcare executives to task for not bringing nurses to the table.

"The problem didn't happen overnight," she said. "Decisions by healthcare executives have played a big part. Without nurses and other healthcare professionals having a seat at the table, there's no counterbalance."

One of the stressors on nurses is that as staffing has decreased, their workload has increased – dramatically, in some instances. Catherine Henderson, a registered nurse at Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital, said the staffing level at the hospital pre-pandemic hovered at around 80%. It's now at 35%. And the workload, she said, has doubled.

"Imagine trying to care for a dying patient with a doubled workload," said Henderson. "This is everyday reality for nurses at the bedside. Nurses are there day in and day out to provide care. Nurses have not been able to do these tasks effectively and deliver patient care due to these increased workloads."

Making matters worse, she said, is that patients are now living longer, and have more comorbidities that need to be managed adequately.

Kim Plants, a registered nurse at Ashtabula County Medical Center, said safer staffing levels are necessary to maintain a high standard of patient care.

"Many of my colleagues and friends have been talking about early retirement, or leaving the profession entirely," said Plants. "In order to care for the patient, there needs to be enough nurses and ancillary staff to do the job."

THE LARGER TREND

On Monday, a nurse staffing bill, which exempted the Mayo Clinic, failed to get legislative approval in Minnesota.

According to the Nurse Salary Research Report published by Nurse.com in 2022, 29% of nurses said they were considering leaving the profession, a steep rise from the 11% who were considering such a move in the 2020 survey.

Part of the issue is that nursing shortages have reached crisis levels, the report found. Nursing staff shortages are nothing new, but the pandemic has made the problem much worse.

The vacancy rate for registered nurses was almost 10% in 2020, for example, almost a full point higher than the prior year. Over a third of hospitals reported a vacancy rate higher than 10%. And nurse turnover rates are increasing, standing at about 22% in 2021, compared to 18% in 2019.

It takes an average of three months to recruit a qualified nurse to fill a vacancy, a period that is expected to increase in the wake of the disruptions caused by COVID-19, data showed.

The survey found that 90% of nurse leaders anticipate post-pandemic staffing shortages, and hospital CEOs rank personnel shortages as their top concern.

In a separate 2022 survey issued by Wolters Kluwer Health and UKG, 92% of respondents predicted they would be short of their budgeted nurse headcount over the next 18 months. And 58% of health leaders said they don't expect to bring in additional staff or new roles due to financial constraints.

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: Jeff.Lagasse@himssmedia.com