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WHEREAS, Pittsburgh's healthcare sector drives a substantial amount of critical care and support to patients, workers, and to our local economy; and
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WHEREAS, Pittsburgh's hospitals are ranked among the region's best for delivering quality healthcare that need constant investment and innovation; and
WHEREAS, nurses have served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic and been heralded as healthcare heroes, yet overwhelmed hospitals have led to overburdened nurses and other healthcare workers, diminished patient outcomes with increased likelihood of medication errors, patient death, staff burnout and occupational injuries; and
WHEREAS, the pandemic exacerbated staffing shortages in Pittsburgh's hospitals which already existed, and moved them to crisis levels; and
WHEREAS, patient safety and quality care are directly tied to staffing levels, with research showing patients in facilities with better staffing levels are less likely to die, more likely to recover, and less likely to be readmitted; and
WHEREAS, unsafe staffing levels have driven the burnout suffered by many nurses and other healthcare workers and has led to widespread job dissatisfaction and the exodus from the profession by many nurses in the past two years and fewer nursing school applicants; and
WHEREAS, mandatory adoption of uniform, minimal, numerical and specific registered nurse-to-patient staffing ratios is required for competent, safe, therapeutic and professional nursing care, for the retention and recruitment of qualified direct care registered nurses and to improve patient outcomes; and
WHEREAS, the Patient Safety Act will improve staffing, save lives, and improve overall patient care. It will save hospitals money and improve retention of highly skilled and trained nurses and demand accountability on the hospital industry.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh calls on state legislators to adopt House Bill 106 and Senate Bill ...
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