[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 117 (Friday, July 20, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9659-S9660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Mikulski, 
        Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Levin, 
        Mr. Akaka, Mr. Feingold, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. 
        Whitehouse):
  S. 1842. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for patient protection by limiting the number of mandatory 
overtime hours a nurse may be required to work in certain providers of 
services to which payments are made under the Medicare

[[Page S9660]]

Program; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is a privilege to introduce the Safe 
Nursing and Patient Care Act today, and I am pleased to have my 
colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Kerry, joining me in this effort. 
This important bill will limit mandatory overtime for nurses in order 
to protect patient safety and improve working conditions for nurses.
  The widespread insistence on mandatory overtime across the country 
means that over-worked nurses are often forced to provide care when 
they are too tired to perform their jobs. The result is unnecessary 
risk for their patients and for the nurses themselves. A recent study 
by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing found that nurses 
who work shifts of 12\1/2\ hours or more are three times more likely to 
commit errors than nurses who work a standard shift of 8\1/2\ hours or 
less.
  A study by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and RAND 
Corporation found that when nurses work too much overtime, their 
patients are more likely to suffer hospital-related infections.
  These studies, and many more like them, compellingly illustrate the 
critical threat to patient safety when nurses are overworked.
  The grueling conditions in which nurses are obliged to work 
jeopardizes the future of this essential profession. We face a critical 
shortage of nurses. The American Hospital Association reports that 
hospitals needed 118,000 more RNs to fill immediate vacancies in 
December 2005. This is an 8.5 percent vacancy rate, and it is expected 
to rise to 20 percent in coming years, undermining their ability to 
provide emergency care. In addition, nearly half a million trained 
nurses are not currently working in the nursing profession, even though 
they are desperately needed.
  Job dissatisfaction and harsh overtime are major factors in the 
nursing shortage. As a 2004 report by the CDC concluded, poor working 
conditions are contributing to difficulties with retention and 
recruitment in nursing. Nurses are not treated with the respect they 
deserve in the workplace, and many caring nurses refuse to work in an 
environment in which they know they are putting their patients at risk.
  Our Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act deals with these critical 
problems. By restricting mandatory overtime for nurses, the act helps 
ensure that nurses are able to provide the highest quality of care to 
their patients. By improving the quality of life of nurses, the act 
encourages more dedicated workers to enter nursing and to make it their 
lifetime career.
  This legislation is obviously needed to protect public safety. 
Federal safety standards already limit work hours for pilots, flight 
attendants, truck drivers, railroad engineers and other professionals. 
We need to guarantee the same safe working conditions for nurses, who 
care for so many of our most vulnerable citizens.
  Some hospitals have already taken action. In recent years, after 
negotiations with their nurses, Brockton Hospital and St. Vincent 
Hospital in Massachusetts have agreed to limit mandatory overtime. Mr. 
President, 11 States have adopted laws or regulations to end forced 
overtime. These limits will protect patients and improve working 
conditions for nurses, and will help in the recruitment and retention 
of nurses in the future.
  Improving conditions for nurses is an essential part of our ongoing 
effort to reduce medical errors and improve patient outcomes. But it is 
also a matter of basic fairness and respect. Nurses perform one of the 
most difficult and important jobs in our society. They care about their 
patients and want to provide the best possible treatment. They cannot 
do their job when they're exhausted and overworked. Nurses, and the 
patients they care for, deserve better. The Safe Nursing and Patient 
Care Act respects the dignity of hardworking nurses, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
                                 ______