COLUMBUS, Ohio — Wearing T-shirts with graphics reading "Code Red," supporters of House Bill 285 packed a Ohio Statehouse committee hearing room Tuesday afternoon.
"[House Bill] 285 is a way to hold hospital executives accountable to staff to safe patient limits, to have enough nurses and staff at the bedside to have safe patient care," Ohio Nurses Association President Rick Lucas said.
A nursing shortage is affecting hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities in Ohio and across the country. A 2023 study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found roughly 100,000 nurses nationwide have left the profession since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill would mandate minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals and create a loan-to-grant program to recruit more nurses. Supporters say the legislation would increase the number of nurses and decrease their job stress.
"Nurses have been struggling long before the pandemic hit, but we haven't recovered from what we went through in 2020," Lucas said.
The Ohio Hospital Association, Ohio Children's Hospital Association, Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Business Roundtable oppose House Bill 285.
In written opponent testimony submitted to the House Health Provider Services Committee, the groups argue the bill would exacerbate the existing nursing shortage and would threaten their ability to staff facilities safely, adequately and flexibly.
"In California, where nurse staffing ratios are mandated, hospitals have been forced to cease providing service lines, such as oncology services, and redirect staff to other areas of the hospital to meet the ratios. Ratios would promote the closure of patient services, thereby threatening access to care for patients and communities," the opponents wrote. "Rather than imposing rigid ratios, we urge consideration of alternative approaches that focus on collaboration between health care facilities, educational and professional organizations and Ohio policymakers."
A search of the Ohio Means Jobs website Tuesday found nearly 16,000 job listings for registered nurses in the state.
"The problem is turnover," Lucas said "So, we're bringing these people in the door and they're not staying. Those postings are perpetually out there."
Tuesday's hearing was the second hearing for the bill. If it does not get passed by the end of the lame duck legislative session in December, supporters say they will bring it back in the new Ohio General Assembly in the new year.