HOUSE BILL 321

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Brian F. Egolf

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH CARE; PROVIDING STANDARDS FOR NURSE-TO- PATIENT RATIOS; PROVIDING FOR REVIEW OF THOSE STANDARDS; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH--STANDARDS FOR NURSE-TO- PATIENT RATIOS--PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL REVIEW OF STANDARDS.--

          A. Based on the patient's acuity, a hospital in New Mexico shall adopt and implement standards of nurse-to-patient ratios that are no less than:

     Hospital Unit                   Nurse-to-Patient Ratio

Behavioral Health and Psychiatric Units          1 to 6

Emergency Departments                           1 to 4

     Triage - Registered Nurses only            1 to 1

     Paramedic Base Station Radio -

          Registered Nurse only                 1 to 1

     Trauma                                     1 to 1

     Critical Care Patients                     1 to 2

General Medical Surgical Floor                   1 to 4

Intensive Care Unit or Critical Care Unit        1 to 2

Labor and Delivery                              1 to 2

     Antepartum - not active labor              1 to 4

     Postpartum - mothers                       1 to 6

     Couplets - mothers and babies              1 to 4

     Combined labor and delivery                1 to 3

Mixed Units                                     1 to 6

Neonatal Intensive Care - Registered

     Nurse only                                 1 to 2

Operating Room                                  1 to 1

Pediatrics                                      1 to 4

Post Anesthetic Recovery Room                    1 to 2

Specialty Care - Dialysis and Oncology           1 to 4

Step Down Unit                                  1 to 4

Telemetry Unit                                  1 to 4

Well-Baby Nursery                               1 to 8.

          B. The department of health shall monitor all hospitals in the state to determine if each hospital is conforming to the minimum standard of nurse-to-patient ratios. At minimum, the department shall require all hospitals to submit the nurse-to-patient ratio of each department as stated in Subsection A of this section at the hospital.

          C. Annually, before July 1 of each year, the department of health shall review the nurse-to-patient ratios in a public meeting and receive input on changes needed to the nurse-to-patient ratios from hospitals, patients, nurses and other stakeholders in the effort to provide improved health care to New Mexicans and others who are patients in New Mexico's hospitals. Stakeholder groups that the department may contact are the:

                (1) American association of critical-care nurses;

                (2) association of perioperative registered nurses;

                (3) oncology nursing society;

                (4) emergency nurses association;

                (5) association of women's health, obstetric and neonatal nurses;

                (6) American psychiatric nurses association;

                (7) American association of neuroscience nurses;

                (8) society of gastroenterology nurses and associates, inc;

                (9) American society of perianesthesia nurses; and

                (10) hospitals in New Mexico.

          D. The department of health shall monitor patient outcomes under the nurse-to-patient ratios and develop a quarterly report by county and hospital that states nurse-to-patient ratios by department at each hospital and provides basic patient outcome data. The report shall be posted quarterly on the department's web site in a user-friendly, searchable format.

     SECTION 2. APPROPRIATION.--Fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the department of health for expenditure in fiscal year 2013 to review statutory standards for nurse-to-patient ratios and develop quarterly reports required by statute. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2013 shall revert to the general fund.

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