Study after study has shown that when there are fewer nurses to care for more patients, patient care suffers.  Noted researcher Linda Aiken found in her landmark 2002 study that, for every patient over four that a nurse cares for, the risk of death goes up by 7 percent.  In fact, hospitals with eight patients per nurse have a 31 percent higher risk of fatalities than hospitals with four patients per nurse.

UAN believes it is past time for the federal government to step in to ensure that there are adequate numbers of nurses on staff to care for patients.  Hospitals have shown that they are unable or unwilling to do so on their own, and no amount of hospital commissions or committees will solve the problem.

Read more about the UAN-supported H.R. 2123, Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2007.

Read a summary of H.R. 2123

Find out if your representative is a co-sponsor of H.R. 2123. If he or she is not, send them the sample letter posted here to tell them how important it is that we have a federal law enforcing safe, adjustable RN-patient staffing standards.