Standards of Care Update
The Standards of Care Act, our bill to establish patient assignments limits, had its third hearing today in the House Health and Human Services Policy committee. The bill passed with amendments, despite serious objections from the hospitals. As amended, the bill has a narrower focus than its original version, but a delivers a victory for patients and nurses by laying a strong foundation for documenting the crisis of patient risk in Minnesota that nurses witness every day. In fact, Committee Chair Rep. Tina Liebling of Rochester offered a strong endorsement of MNA’s concerns when she stated “there is broad agreement that there is a problem.”