Massachusetts approves state’s first nurse staffing mandate

Editor's Note

The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission has voted unanimously to approve the state’s first nurse staffing mandate. It calls for no more than two patients to be assigned to one nurse in all ICUs, including burn units and NICUs. In some cases just one patient is assigned to one nurse.

This comes 11 years after California passes the country’s first mandated nurse-patient ratio law that has largely resolved nurse burnout in that state.

Experts continue to debate the patient safety benefits and the increased costs of mandating nurse-patient ratios.

Eleven years after passage in California, the country's first mandated nurse-patient ratio law has largely resolved the nurse burnout problem. Now the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission has voted unanimously this month to approve the state's first nurse staffing mandate.