CONTACT: Betsy Marville, (561) 735-1179 
Carlyn Foster, (954) 632-0795 cell

Florida House Committee on Health Innovation to Hear HB 851 Patient Right to Know Act Tuesday

Hollywood, FL—Tuesday, the Florida House Committee on Health Innovation will hold a hearing on HB 851—a bill that requires hospitals to report their nurse staffing levels by unit to the public. The Patient Right to Know Act, sponsored by Senator Nan Rich (SB 1186) and Representative Ronald Brisé (HB 851), empowers consumers to make informed decisions about their care by requiring hospitals to report their nurse staffing levels by unit to the public.

Increased healthcare transparency will provide an additional tool for consumers in the context of looming budget cuts. HB 851 would allow patients and their families to access patient satisfaction survey results, complaints filed against hospitals, and real-time information on current staffing levels. Reporting staffing levels will not burden hospitals as staffing matrices and schedules exist, HB 851 merely calls for the information to be made public.

“Nurses with the Florida Nurses Association and SEIU Healthcare Florida support this bill. Patients and their family members have a right to know what is going on in their hospital. We all want to make informed decisions about our care and this bill will help consumers do that,” said Betsy Marville, RN, St. Mary’s Medical Center. “There is a real demand out there for this kind of information.”

Higher staffing levels lead to better patient care and reduced medical errors. Studies have shown that when RN staffing levels are good, medical error, complications, and mortality rate all decline. Nursing care and follow up on the patient treatment plan is the primary difference between recovery in the hospital or recovery at home.

“In light of the Medicaid cuts, increased transparency in healthcare is critical for consumers, patient advocates, legislators and regulators to have the ability to monitor where our precious healthcare dollars are being allocated and to ensure that quality care is not compromised,” said Monica Russo, President, SEIU Healthcare Florida.

SEIU Healthcare Florida members have been ardent advocates for transparency in Florida and the nation's healthcare institutions, and support SB 1668 and HB 1335 which would increase accountability in Florida's nursing homes and protect vulnerable nursing home residents in the event of acquisitions and other transactions. A similar federal bill was introduced in February 2008, by Senator Charles Grassley and Senator Herb Kohl—the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2008 (S.2641).

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