Rockland Lawmakers Urge State Rules for Nurse Staffing Levels

NEW CITY, NY – The Rockland County Legislature voted 15-0 Tuesday to urge state Legislators to pass the Safe Staffing For Quality Care Act affecting hospitals and nursing homes.

“It is clear that this law is needed to insure appropriate nursing staff is always in place,” Legislator Aney Paul said. “Nurses are on the front line when it comes to providing quality care. If there are more nurses, there is a better outcome for patients and the facility.”

Paul has been a nurse for more than 30 years and is the main sponsor of the County Legislature’s resolution urging the state Assembly and Senate to pass the Safe Staffing law. The remaining 14 Legislators present for the meeting all co-sponsored the resolution.

Carol Massaro addressed Legislators prior to the vote. She is a registered nurse at Nyack Hospital and a member of the New York State Nurses’ Association, the largest professional association of nurses in the state with 39,000 registered nurses as members. The nurses’ specialties include medical-surgical units, intensive care, mother & baby, labor & delivery, emergency room, pediatrics, operating room, same-day surgery and home care.

“As front-line nurses, we work hard to provide the best care for our patients even under the most difficult conditions,” Massaro said. “It is true, New York hospitals and nursing homes are facing a staffing crisis. Nurses are being forced to care for more patients, sometimes more than a dozen at one time, pushing nurses beyond their limits and putting patients at risk. We are stretched thin.”

PHOTO: Rockland County Legislator Aney Paul stands with nurses who are calling for passage of a law to require safe nurse staffing levels/contributed