After striking last year to win new contracts, Minnesota nurses are now at the Capitol pushing the state Legislature to address what they say is persistent understaffing at hospitals across the state.

Health system leaders have criticized their proposed changes as too expensive and unrealistic, but have acknowledged Minnesota needs better nurse recruitment and retention.

“The problems in our hospitals are getting worse, not better,” said Mary C. Turner, president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. She’s repeatedly argued hospital leaders are more concerned with the financial bottom line than about staff and patients.

Last year, Turner led what was called the largest private sector hospital nurses strike when 15,000 members struck for three days in September. Nurses also threatened a prolonged walkout over the holidays, but withdrew those plans after winning new labor agreements.

Those deals included big raises, but mostly smaller changes to address safety and staff. Now, nurses are trying to address some of their longstanding staffing and safety concerns by changing state law through the “Keep Nurses at the Bedside Act.”

Legislation

The bill would:

• Establish committees at each hospital to set staffing levels composed of managers and caregivers.

• Require hospitals eliminate the boarding of emergency room patients in hallways.

• Call on the Minnesota Department of Health to review facilities’ patient care data, staffing level compliance, emergency room wait times and more and produce a public report.

• Require better violence prevention and training.

• Spend more on recruitment and retention efforts including $5 million annually on student loan forgiveness and $10 million on mental health supports.

Last year, the bill was debated in the Minnesota House, but did not progress in the Senate, which at the time was controlled by Republicans. Sen. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, chief sponsor of the bill, said she was certain it would be debated this year.

“Nurses are coming together to make sure that every patient is getting the high standard of care that everyone expects,” said Murphy. The lawmaker who is also a nurse said hospitals are struggling to do that with current staffing levels. “We want to make that a statewide standard. That’s why this legislation is so important.”

Health care sector battered by pandemic

The health care sector has been battered by the nearly three-year old coronavirus pandemic. One in five health workers left their job in recent years, forcing a staffing crisis on hospitals and long-term care facilities where as many as 20 percent of positions are vacant.

Hospitals are also struggling financially with a recent Minnesota Hospital Association report showing most facilities losing money and those that weren’t saw thin margins.

The Minnesota Hospital Association said in a statement the proposal would have “a drastic, negative impact on patient care.” The group said the bill prioritizes one part of patient’s care teams.

“Patient needs are continually evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of flexibility at the bedside,” the hospital association statement said. “Quality patient care depends on more than just the number of registered nurses. The bill strips away the capacity and flexibility of on-the-ground care team leadership to make real-time decisions, transferring the authority to two bureaucratic committees.”

Bipartisan support

The nurses’ staffing bill has some bipartisan support.

Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, whose wife is also a nurse, said it was important because Minnesotans turn to their medical providers counting on receiving the best care possible. Staffing shortages are making that hard to guarantee.

“I’m proud to stand with them today,” Abeler said. The senator noted he was also working with address staff shortages in long-term care that were exacerbating hospitals problems with overcrowding.

Rachel Hanneman, a registered nurse at Southdale Hospital in Edina, said she hoped the bill would make nursing a desirable career again. She initially struggled to get into a training program and now many of her former classmates are working in less stressful clinic positions.

“Simply put, the current system we have for health care is not one we can sustain our workforce through,” Hanneman said. “We need changes to solve the crisis of short staffing that’s pushing nurses out of the profession.”