What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, August 7, 2018:
A coalition of Pennsylvania nurses hand-carried a 10-thousand signature petition to the state Capitol last week to push lawmakers to act on legislation stalled in house and senate committees.
The legislation, titled Hospital Patient Protection, mandates lower patient-to-nurse ratios. The nurse’s coalition say that current staffing levels in many hospitals ultimately hurts patients.
The proposed legislation states that hospital staffing should be based on the individual patient’s care needs, the severity of the condition, and the services needed.
Read the bills here:
The coalition is facing opposition from both the state’s Hospital Association, and their own Nurses Association.
WITF Capitol Bureau Chief Katie Meyer reported that association CEO Betsey Snook said that while the group wholeheartedly believes hospitals across the state do have a staffing problem, they don’t support mandatory ratios because, in part, they’re not flexible enough.
Instead, the group supports a proposal to create committees that would involve more nurses in staffing decisions.
Meyer reported that a spokesman for the Hospital and Health system Association of Pennsylvania said they don’t think there’s a staffing problem.
Joining Smart Talk on Tuesday is Dr. Mark Crider, President, Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, and nurses Debbie Vandover, York, and Sharon Mitchell, Wilkes-Barre.
Dr. Mark Crider, Sharon Mitchell and Debbie Vandover
Update: The conversation about nurse-to-patient ratios extended for the whole hour. President Eric Darr and Chad Smeltz are in the studio Friday to discuss The Storm.
Also on Smart Talk, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is making history as the first Pennsylvania University to assemble a varsity esports team, called The Storm.
The team is comprised of 16 full-scholarship players and will compete against other National Association of Collegiate Esports teams beginning in September. The University has invested nearly three million dollars establishing the program.
Harrisburg University President Eric Darr and Chad Smeltz, program director, are in the studio to talk about the program.
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