New Jersey's hospitals are seeing a scary Trend one-third of nurses have dropped out of the field completely since 2019. now it's easy to blame the pandemic but those on the inside say it's actually about burnout that nurses are simply expected to do too much and care for too many patients than what's possible or safe yesterday nurses and health care workers rallied in front of the State House calling on the legislature to finally pass a bill that would require hospitals to increase their Staffing Melissa Rose Cooper was there to hear their demands that they say are a matter of life and death for their patients we can't afford to wait any longer we must demand a voice for safe Staffing so these nurses and health care workers are calling on the states to help ease what they say is an ongoing crisis a severe Staffing shortage in the Health Care System they want lawmakers to pass legislation that will mandate nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals I'm not just talking about this nursing shortage this nursing mandate I've lived it and still living it the problem is is that this would solve the nursing shortage if we had a state mandated nurse patient ratio a bill being reviewed in the Senate would enforce a nurse to Patient ratio in hospitals now more than ever we need to pass this bill to stop The Exodus from our hospitals of dedicated courageous nurses and other health care workers according to a new report from New Jersey's largest health care workers union health professionals and Allied employees Staffing shortages create extreme burnout on the job forcing more and more Frontline workers to leave the field 30 percent have left the bedside of those who remain 72 percent want to leave of those who have zero to five years experience 95 percent want to leave health care workers say they've been dealing with a staffing shortage for far too long and not only is it stressing them out but it's also putting the patience at risk short staffing results in increased patient morality mortality excuse me unable to accurately provide the care that's necessary lowest patient satisfaction and lowers nurses job satisfaction longer length of stays but not everyone agrees having a mandated ratio is the answer according to the New Jersey Hospital Association who say enforcing this measure wouldn't be in patients best interests the president and CEO saying in a statement the last three years have taught us that nurses and teams of other experienced Healthcare professionals need flexibility to use their clinical expertise to make the best decisions for their patients determining adequate nurse staffing is complex it changes on a shift-by-shift basis and is based on patient Acuity and turnover availability of support staff and skill mix and the setting of care in 2020 Governor Murphy signed into law a similar measure for long-term care facilities however some LTC industry Advocates say the snapping ratio is actually hurting Patient Care by forcing nursing homes to hire and retain any CNA they can find without regard to Quality while inflating costs that's definitely a challenge for healthcare facilities right now and I know that they are working as best as they can to make sure that Staffing is adequate I think mandates become a challenge for them when they're already facing these staff shortages and that would be something that might be difficult for them to implement and practice but I know that it is the top priority for all of our Healthcare facilities across the street to really make sure that we're attracting and retaining more people into the field without any mandates right now enforceable standards affect retention of nurses in hospital bedside jobs enforceable Staffing standards make the work environment safer for both patients and health care workers enforceable Staffing standards benefit hospitals by saving them money don't believe for a second that it'll cost them more money it'll save money a bill calling for mandated nurse to Patient ratio is also being considered in the assembly Advocates are planning another rally for May to get lawmakers to push the legislation through for NJ Spotlight news I'm Melissa Rose Cooper