Patient Protection Act Proposed for DC Hospitals

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Registered nurses joined with District of Columbia Council members and community supporters in a press conference yesterday to announce the introduction of the Patient Protection Act to dramatically improve care in DC hospitals to protect patients. Speaking to a room packed with some 200 DC RNs, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (left) called the bill “common sense, today’s version of the 8-hour day.” It is intended, he said, to address “the short change of healthcare due to the bottom line, ensure an adequate number of nurses on duty and eliminate (nurse) burnout.” The Metro Washington Council endorsed the Patient Protection Act at its meeting last week, and Council President Jos Williams was among those speaking at yesterday’s press conference. “It is a disgrace that this happens in hospitals in the capital of the richest nation in the world,” said Bonnie Linen-Carroll, an operating room RN at Washington Hospital Center, “but it doesn’t have to be this way.” Added DC Council member Yvette Alexander, "You want the best care possible.  Patient Protection Act will do that. We appreciate you, we admire you, we respect what you do." The bill would establish mandatory minimum nurse-to-patient ratios by hospital unit, Washington Hospital Center RN Rajini Raj (above right) explained, augmented by additional staffing based on individual patient needs. It is “modeled on a successful California law that has dramatically improved patient safety, brought 130,000 additional nurses back to the bedside, and has helped keep experienced nurses taking care of patients.” - report by Chris Garlock; photos by Rick Reinhard