http://www.protectmasspatients.org/

Do you know how safe your hospital is? According to the US Centers for Disease Control, every year throughout the country 2 million people get sick in the hospital from dangerous and preventable infections and medical errors. Even worse, an estimated 90,000 of these patients die.

What causes these errors? A number of studies show that many errors of this type are directly attributable to the understaffing of nurses in hospitals. A recent survey of actual staffing patterns found that many Massachusetts hospitals regularly force nurses to care for as many as eight patients at one time. This increases the likelihood of injury or death for each of those 8 patients by 31 percent!

In Massachusetts, frontline nurses and more than 100 leading consumer and public health organizations have united to try an end this hidden epidemic. The ad posted here lays out graphically the dangers that everyone faces when they go into a hospital where nurses are forced to care for too many patients at one time. The Massachusetts legislature is currently considering legislation, the Patient Safety Act (H. 2059), which would address this crisis by setting a safe limit on nurses' patient assignments.

http://www.protectmasspatients.org/

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Hospital
• patient
• safety
• quality
• infection
• nurse
• staffing
• death
• medical
• error
• Massachusetts
• legislature.

[fl34758]

ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS ! Who's written congressman to support the "SAFE PATIENT REGISTERED NURSE RATIO ACT 2123" No Mumbo Jumbo,Number of RN to Patient Ratio for Hospital Patients!FLORIDA Nursing Homes/Rehabs Federal Goverment states its OK 1 LPN:40 Patients. Yelling at the nurse is not the answer! JCAHO passes inspection and measures by Counting how many patient recieved there FLU shot ??? Whoes counting how many traceostomies is one LPN suction airway open out of that 40 patients

[mallis888]

excellent video! very powerful and clear on the issue. i had no idea that statistic was true and it drove it home in a very scary way. and nice panning with the camera too.

[rickbos2001]

Staffing ratios are enforced at daycare centers and the police have limitations, why not for hospital patients, those that are the most vulnerable? Time to wake up and get H2059 passed!

[strombofootball]

Wow, this video looks very real. When I was in the hospital last year, I was so scared and alone and worried that nurses wouldn't be around to save me if I needed help. The nurses were great, but they always seemed harried. This is a good video, but this problem needs to be solved. I don't want to be a statistic if I have to go back to the hospital.

[kary316]

Great video! Sharply illustrates the point that when nurses have too many patients and are spread too thin it is the PATIENT that suffers. As part of their job,nurses advocate for their patients and the care they receive. Legislators, do your job, insure that Massachusetts patients don't die needlessly from infections and avoidable medical errors that can be stopped by having a nurse at the bedside. If you don't, rely on prayer that you'll never get sick and need to be the one in that bed!

[minousmom]

My daughter is a nurse and she showed me this you tube and it looks scary. I'm 83 and I hope I don't have to be in a MA hospital. Legislators get on the ball and pass this bill!

[minousmom]

With a democratic congress and a democratic governor why isn't this bill that is key to the people and patients of MA being brought up for a vote? I'm a frontline nurse for 35 years and we NEED this bill 2059 more than ever. Stop wasting time on casinos! Legislators a vote on this bill that will be the one thing that will really help health care in MA.Call all legislators! Please people your life may depend on it.

[patientsrights2000]

Each day that the bill is not enacted by our legislators, 6 to 7 people died a day in Massachusetts thats over 2000 a year, I know the pain and suffering because I lost my 13 month old child to medical error, so I'm asking everyone personally to please call their senators and reps and tell them this bill deserves a vote, call 617-722-2000, in my heart I believe this bill saves lifes.

[debsul57]

Please urge your legislators to support patient safety bill 2059. Everyone will be a patient at some point in their lives and safe staffing could mean the difference between life and death!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!

[gryanrn]

This video barely touches the REAL truth about Ma hospitals.....it's much worse! The public needs to wake up and realize that the patient safety bill 2059 is about PATIENT SAFETY!!! And sadly, WE ALL MAY BE PATIENTS someday!