Nurses are calling for a code red alarm for Ohio, and gathered at the Statehouse Thursday to urge lawmakers to pass legislation to improve nursing care for patients and to protect those who provide that care.
Nurses chanted "we are one" as they rallied on Capitol Square as they called for legislation to improve nursing care in Ohio. The nurses said critically short-staffed care units and workplace violence are causing some to consider leaving the profession. They want lawmakers to pass legislation to improve conditions for workers and patients.
“We need safe staffing ratios. We need a safe workplace to go to in order to give the best care that we can," said Amy Jo Riley, a nurse at Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital in Tuscarawas County.
“Every day, nurses are pushed to their limits, overworked and placed in hazardous situations that put everyone at risk,” said Rick Lucas, president and executive director of the Ohio Nurses Association “We are fed up with these intolerable conditions and are calling for immediate action to protect those who dedicate their lives to caring for others. The future of healthcare in Ohio depends on immediate action taken by our legislators and hospital executives. Someone’s safety and care depend on it.”
A bill that dealt with nursing ratios didn't make it through the last General Assembly but this year, the ONA said it will reintroduce a similar piece of legislation that supports nurses and health professionals and prioritizes patient safety.
Riley said nurses are also concerned about the federal or state government trimming Medicaid.
“It cuts our funding and especially in vulnerable populations that rely on that kind of funding where it is already hard to get an appointment with certain providers or certain specialties," Riley said.
Some smaller hospitals in Ohio have said they need Medicaid dollars to continue to keep their doors open. Former Gov. John Kasich first expanded Medicaid in Ohio under the Affordable Care Act in 2013 in a Controlling Board request that was controversial at the time. But some in Congress have recently floated the idea of rolling back some federal funds used in that expansion as a way to save dollars.
