A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF NURSE STAFFING AND RETENTION ISSUES ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

     WHEREAS, New Mexico hospitals and other health care providers are facing serious shortages of professional nurses; and

     WHEREAS, physicians and nurses agree that hospital staffing levels of nurses are often inadequate to ensure safe and effective care of patients; and

     WHEREAS, a 2001 national study identified a clear link between nurse staffing levels and burnout, job dissatisfaction and nurse retention; and

     WHEREAS, a 2002 report by the institute of medicine of the national academy of sciences estimated that as many as ninety-eight thousand hospitalized persons in America die each year as a result of errors in their care; and

     WHEREAS, there is a direct relationship between nurse staffing and patient well-being; and

     WHEREAS, recent studies show that lean nurse staffing is directly associated with an increased length of time in the hospital and increased incidence of urinary tract infections, post-operative infections, gastrointestinal bleeding, cardiac arrest, pneumonia, pressure ulcers and death; and

     WHEREAS, substantial decreases in mortality rates of hospitalized patients could result from increasing nurse staffing; and

     WHEREAS, according to the United States government accountability office, the current shortage of nurses is partly due to increasingly complex patient care needs as well as decreased job satisfaction due to such factors as long working hours, heavy workloads and high emotional exhaustion; and

     WHEREAS, in New Mexico, seventeen thousand nurses provide patient care in virtually all locations in which health care is delivered, including hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory care settings, clinics, private homes, schools and workplaces; and

     WHEREAS, increased nurse recruitment and retention could result in reduced errors, increased patient safety and outcomes and improved job satisfaction for nurses;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico health policy commission be requested to study the impact of nurse staffing and retention issues on workforce development and patient safety; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study address standards of nurse staffing and recommended nurse-to-patient ratios, the effect of long hours on quality of patient care, environment of care issues as they relate to both nurses and patients and methods of recruitment and retention of nurses in all settings; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting the study, the New Mexico health policy commission confer with others with knowledge and interest in nursing, to include the department of health, statewide associations representing hospitals and health systems, physicians, nurses, home health care providers, nurse executives and nursing homes and a statewide organization dedicated to excellence in nursing; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico health policy commission report its findings and recommendations to the legislative health and human services committee at its October 2005 meeting; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be sent to the director of the New Mexico health policy commission and the secretary of health.