Nurses were in force at the Roundhouse on Monday to support a bill in front of the House Health and Human Services Committee that would help create minimum staffing ratios in New Mexico hospitals.
House Bill 72 which would create a committee to advise the state Health Care Authority on setting minimum staffing ratios for nurses.
Jessica Mala is a nurse at Presbyterian Hospital in downtown Albuquerque and she said that the committee doesn鈥檛 have a real understanding of how badly nurses are struggling.
鈥淣urses are leaving bedside by droves. They work for two years, and they're done,鈥� she said.
A found the state needs over 5,300 additional nurses for all counties to meet the national benchmark of 92 per 10,000 population.
Mala said there are enough certified nurses, but they鈥檙e moving out of the state to find jobs with better environments.
Rep. Alan Martinez (R-Rio Rancho) is minority whip and said he鈥檚 worried about losing patient beds.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take years to ramp up some of the numbers if we鈥檙e requiring three patients to one nurse in the emergency rooms. Are we going to lose emergency rooms? How are we going to deal with that?鈥� he said.
Edith Elsner-Ridgeway is also a nurse at Presbyterian.
鈥淭hey're creating these 鈥榳hat if鈥� situations. 鈥榃hat if we have to close beds down? What if we have patients in the hall?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淲ell, guess what? We already do.鈥�
Other Republican committee members asked whether accreditation would be in jeopardy and raised concerns on cost. A fiscal impact analysis found additional staff to implement the legislation could cost up to $1 million.
But nurse Lauren Rice said basic things like time for lunch, and bathroom breaks would go a long way to help nurses now.
鈥淭here are days where I've seen, including myself, we break down in tears because we feel so horrible. The amount of times I go home feeling like I'm a horrible nurse,鈥� she said.
Similar bills this year include one that would also establish along with nurses. Another seeks $2 million for a to address health care shortages.
HB 72 passed 5-to-4 along party lines and now heads to the House Judiciary Committee.
Support from the coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
