"My heart breaks for the patients of Minnesota": Nurses speak out as legislators scrap mandated staff levels
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- In the final hours of the 2023 legislative session, members of the Minnesota Nurses Association were dealt a major blow in their fight for mandated staffing levels.
All session long, nurses and legislative supporters had championed the Keeping Nurses at the Bedside Act as a way of making sure all hospitals across the state could be staffed in a way that they say would provide the best care for patients. But in the 11th hour, that key component was scrapped.
With mandated staffing levels off the table, the measure passed under a new name, now dubbed the Nurses and Patient Safety Act.
Things really began to fall apart last week when Mayo Clinic threatened to pull over $4 billion in investments from the state if all 16 of its hospitals weren't made exempt from the legislation. Mayo argued the mandate would prevent them from providing world-class care. Soon after, other hospitals began to push back too.
The Minnesota Nurses Association says the uphill battle is clear, but they will continue to fight.
"My heart breaks for the patients in Minnesota," MNA president Mary Turner said Monday. "The events of the last three weeks make clear that the outsized power of corporate executives is alive and well. It is alive and well in Minnesota, in the halls of power, and in the halls of our hospitals."
The Minnesota Hospital Association had been against the mandated staffing levels from the start.
Leaders expressed their gratitude to lawmakers for listening to their concerns saying, in part, "We look forward to continuing the collaboration with our direct care professionals to ensure the best possible care is available to all Minnesotans."
Some parts of the original bill remain, including protections against workplace violence and some student loan forgiveness for nurses.