Patient Safety Can't Wait. Pass Safe Staffing Now.

.@CWAUnion members in Western NY call on Asm. Schimminger to support life saving #SafeStaffing legislation now! #1u. pic.twitter.com/QSyDn2nYrY

— CWA District 1 (@CWADistrict1) June 6, 2016

"I want to be able to care for my patients. I want to be able to give them the care they deserve,” said CWA Local 1168 member and RN Sarah Buckley.

The safety of patients and nursing home residents in New York State depends on passing safe staffing legislation to set a maximum number of patients a nurse can care for at any one time. The research is clear: limiting the number of patients a nurse can take on at one time saves lives. Safe staffing is associated with a reduction in preventable death, the rate of hospital acquired infections, patient falls, 30-day readmission rates, and an increase in rates of patient satisfaction.​ Currently, nurses are often assigned 8, 10, or more patients at a time.

But right now, the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act is sitting in committee, and CWA members are fighting for it to be sent to the Assembly floor for a vote before the end of the legislative session on June 16.

The only Western New York Democrat in the New York State Assembly who does not support Safe Staffing Legislation is Assemblyman Robin Schimminger. Schimminger has voted down the Safe Staffing Bill and stalled it in every committee it has gone through. On June 6, CWA members in Buffalo rallied to urge Schimminger to bring the legislation to a vote. We visited his neighborhood to door-knock and leave lawn signs in support of safe staffing. Click here to read more and watch video from the event.

"It's impossible,” said CWA Local 1168 President Cori Gambini. “You see our ends breaking down, crying, they have to choose between which patients they're going to get to."

Tell your Assemblymember to pass the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act (S.782/A.8580-A) now to ensure there are always enough nurses to properly take care of patients.

CALL: 1-888-966-9824

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Learn More: CampaignForPatientSafety.org