RNs across Nevada say legal maximums on nurse-to-patient ratios will improve patient care and working conditions 

Registered nurses across the Silver State are celebrating today as new legislation, which would set maximum legal limits for the number of patients a nurse can be assigned, advances from the Nevada State Senate to the Nevada Assembly. The legislation, championed by nurses represented by National Nurses Organizing Committee (NNOC), an affiliate of National Nurses United (NNU), has the potential to completely alter the landscape of nursing in the state.

Sponsored by Sen. Rochelle Nguyen of Nevada’s 3rd Senate District, Nevada Senate Bill 182 (SB 182) would set maximum nurse-to-patient ratios based on the acuity of patients in various types of hospital units. By placing maximum limits on the number of patients nurses can be assigned in various hospital units, the legislation would create ways to hold hospital employers accountable for putting patients, nurses, and all health care workers in unsafe situations.

“This is the farthest a nurse-to-patient ratios bill has made it in Nevada, which is encouraging for nurses across the state,” said Carrie Hulka, a labor and delivery RN from Las Vegas. “We look forward to the Nevada Assembly taking up the legislation and hope they’ll see it the same way we do  — as an essential measure to make Nevada a better place to take care of patients.”

SB 182’s advancement comes as NNOC/NNU nurses have joined forces with other health care worker unions in Nevada to advocate for these measures. In addition to safe staffing ratios for RNs, the legislation seeks to set ratios for other health care workers in acute-care facilities. 

Similar legislation passed in California over 20 years ago has revolutionized nursing for California nurses. The science of ratios has demonstrated these measures improve patient outcomes, and nurses from across the country who’ve worked in California say the ratio limits have a dramatic impact on their working conditions. Nevada RNs say the Silver State’s dedicated nurses deserve the same measures as their Golden State counterparts. 

National Nurses United also supports a federal ratios bill recently re-introduced to the U.S. Congress.

NNOC/NNU represents more than 3,000 registered nurses throughout Nevada.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.