Registered nurses from Portland and Bangor highlighted concerns about nurse safety at a joint press conference today in Augusta.
The group said nurses' workloads have increased dramatically and they face more threats and violence from patients. They argued the best solution is for hospitals to implement mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios.
"Nurses care about putting patients over profits," said Erin Oberson, a registered nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. "The time has come for our hospitals to implement safe patient ratios so nurses can care for our patients as we were trained to do and ensure the best outcomes possible."
In a statement, Deborah Sanford, vice president of nursing and patient care services at EMMC, said the hospital's approach to staffing levels is focused on patients' needs. Sanford said EMMC also measures staffing levels against the National Database of Nursing Sensitive Indicators, to ensure it is in line with other high performing nursing organizations.
Kirsten Lane is a registered nurse in the emergency department at Maine Medical Center in Portland. She said nurses are asking for commonsense solutions to reduce violence, including metal detectors and dedicated psych nurses in the emergency room.
"It's time for Maine Med to stop denying nurses a safe work environment with the excuse that our demands are cost prohibitive," Lane said. "That feels like the biggest insult of all, that our lives are not worth the cost. Let's stop this now and start prioritizing nurses and patients over profits."
Faye Weir, senior director of patient care services at Maine Medical Center, said the organization takes patient and staff safety very seriously. She said the hospital has made changes in recent years to improve safety, including offering de-escalation training and increasing security presence in the emergency room.
Weir said mandated ratios would decrease flexibility in patient care.
"We agree with the need to make sure that individual patients get the care they need," she said. "However, these mandated ratios just are not the answer."
Weir said ratios could have unintended consequences, such as delaying care for a patient coming to the hospital because there are not enough nurses to meet the requirements. Or hospitals may have to hire travel nurses to meet the demands, Weir said, which is another expense.
