“Last week inspections had just finished and everything was working properly. Administrators had staffed-up every department to make the hospital looked nice.  As soon as the inspectors were gone, staffing got cut right away. Everyone was in crisis mode again,”said John Pearson, a Registered Nurse at Alameda Health Systems. “SB 1288 will mandate unannounced inspections to ensure hospitals are adhering to nurse-to-patient ratio laws.”

SB 1288 is common-sense legislation that SEIU members and public safety advocates have worked tirelessly to bring to the Governor Brown’s desk to sign. If signed into law, it would improve patient and worker safety by ensuring that hospitals comply with legally mandated nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. This bill would increase the penalties assessed against hospitals that continue to flout regulations and that repeatedly put patient health and safety at risk.

SEIU Registered Nurses were instrumental in the passage of Califoria’s hallmark and nurse-to-patient ratio laws, and they continue their work to advocate for patient care by calling on Gov. Brown to sign SB 1288 into law.