The Maine Senate on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that would limit the number of hospital patients that can be assigned to a single nurse, a proposal that would join the state with California in mandating such a standard.
Supporters say it's aimed at reducing burnout and improving health outcomes, but the proposal is fiercely opposed by the state's hospital association, which says it's a heavy-handed way to address a nursing shortage and will cost providers millions.
California was the first state to implement nursing ratios more than 20 years ago, and efforts to expand the policy to other states have largely been defeated by hospital associations.
But the pandemic has brought forth a new wave of such proposals that are backed by nursing unions who have fought to include the standards in employment contracts. The Maine bill is part of the recent wave of legislation. Some states like New York and Massachusetts have passed nurse-patient standards but limited the mandate to specialty services such as intensive care.
The Maine proposal mandates ranges of nurse-to-patient ratios that depend on the condition of the hospital patient.
And its sponsor, Sen. Stacy Brenner, a Democrat from Scarborough, says it will encourage the 26,000 licensed nurses in Maine to either stay in their jobs or rejoin the profession.
"Maine has does not have a shortage of nurses, we have workplace conditions that are unacceptable to nurses," she said.
Opponents, including the Maine Hospital Association, dispute that assertion. They argue that mandating nurse-to-patient ratios will reduce health care services and increase costs.
The MHA says the bill will cost its hospitals $100 million by requiring the hiring of more nurses, which it says would be especially difficult for rural hospitals.
The Democrat-controlled Senate endorsed the bill, 22-13, with all but one Republican opposing it.
Additional votes are needed before the bill advances to Gov. Janet Mills, who has yet to take a position on it
