Texas, Nevada Adopt Safe Nurse Staffing Laws in 2009
Texas, Nevada Latest States to Adopt Safe Nurse Staffing Law – 2009
Texas and Nevada enacted nurse safe staffing laws in 2009 requiring hospitals to implement plans for each unit. They join five other states that previously adopted similar approaches: CT, IL, OH, OR, WA.
The Texas governor signed into law nurse staffing legislation 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.
Nevada's legislature overrode the governor's veto to adopt safe staffing legislation. The law requires hospitals to establish a staffing committee comprised of 50% direct care nurses to develop staffing plans, with flexibility to accommodate for changing conditions on each unit. Hospitals must comply as a condition of state licensure. The law applies to hospitals with more than 70 beds in counties with a population of at least 100,000.