Nurses sue governor over staffing cutbacks

Jeff Benson

The California Nurses Assn. sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the

Department of Health Services Tuesday, requesting that the Sacramento

Superior Court nix an emergency regulation that cut back on required

minimum nurse staffing levels.

In November Schwarzenegger had delayed a proposed statewide

staffing increase until 2008, putting a temporary hold on a higher

nurse-to-patient ratio in hospitals and surgical units.

Nurses and patients at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach will remain

unaffected whether the regulation continues, according to Rick

Martin, Hoag’s chief nursing officer and vice president of patient

care services.

The hospital is already in compliance with the 2008 higher nurse

staffing requirements and doesn’t plan to roll back those numbers, he

said.

“We have the staff to meet those ratios,” Martin said. “Many

hospitals can’t meet that ability. Other hospitals may have to defer

some of their staff to meet those ratios.”

The association charges the governor and members of his

administration with “compromising patient protections, unlawfully

abusing executive authority to overturn a legislative mandate and

setting a dangerous new precedent that threatens decades of health

and safety protections for Californians,” said California Nurses

Assn. Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro in a news release.

The suit also contends that the regulation is illegal because the

Department of Health Services can only implement a law, not overturn

one, and because it wasn’t documented with specific facts showing the

need for immediate action. Martin added that none of Hoag’s staff

would have to transfer to other hospitals to help them meet their

ratios.

“Other hospitals may have to close down one floor or defer nurses

to another floor to help them meet the ratios on that floor,” he

said.

“It forces hospitals to close down some services to defer staff in

their own organizations.”

The difference between Hoag and other major hospitals in

California, Martin said, is that California is facing a nursing

shortage as a whole, while Hoag is not.

“When there aren’t nurses available, it makes it a challenge,” he

said.

“There aren’t many nurses available to hire. We just sit in a

position where we’re attractive to nurses and recruiting. We have a

shared governance model where our nurses govern themselves.”