Government
House bill would limit nurse workload
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By WEI YU
Capital News Service
LANSING – Rep. Jon Switalski, D-Warren, wants to require hospitals to come up with a plan to set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios and to ban mandatary overtime for nurses. The bill aims to mandate that hospitals maintain detailed staff-to-patient ratios specified in the bill. More than 500 nurses from the state recently rallied at the Capitol to bring attention to the issue. Jeff Breslin, president of the Michigan Nurses Association, a union which represents more than 10,000 registered nurses around the state, said the rally was successful. It showed legislators that nurses are passionate about advocating for their patients not just inside the hospital, but also out in communities and in our political system as well, he said.