Texas Adopts Safe Nurse Staffing Law – June 2009
Texas Adopts Safe Nurse Staffing Law – June 2009
The Texas Governor signed into law nurse staffing protections similar to other state staffing plan approaches, requiring that a governing body of a hospital adopt, implement and enforce a written nurse staffing policy. The policy, created by a staffing committee, would ensure a sufficient number and skill mix of nurses available to meet patients’ needs by unit and shift. The law also provides whistleblower protections and prohibits mandatory overtime. This legislation replaced 2002 regulations.