Press Release
On June 12, Nevada Governor Lombardo vetoed the hospital safe staffing bill, Senate Bill 182. The following are statements from dedicated Nevada nurses who have advocated fiercely for the bill, the bill’s sponsor, State Senator Nguyen, and union leaders:
“Our state is facing a deep health care crisis, which was aggravated by the pandemic and has never been addressed. Our population is aging rapidly, struggling with chronic disease, and needs more complex health care than ever before. But our hospitals are refusing to provide the staffing we need to give our patients the care they deserve, which is causing severe exhaustion, moral injury, and turnover among hospital workers. Improving staffing levels is not only critical for patient care, but also for recruiting, retaining and rebuilding a robust health care workforce.”
“After years of advocacy by nurses and healthcare workers, the strong majority of state legislators voted to pass SB 182, sponsored by State Senator Rochelle Nguyen, which would have established safe staffing levels throughout our largest hospitals. SB 182 aimed to address the healthcare crisis by setting a maximum number of patients that nurses are responsible for in each hospital unit. The bill would have also established safe staffing levels for certified nursing assistants, who are essential members of the healthcare delivery team. Additionally, SB 182 would have set up committees to determine appropriate staffing levels for other job classifications, and required hospitals to keep accurate records about staffing in order to ensure transparency and accountability. Healthcare corporations have more than enough resources to pay for these urgently needed safeguards, but instead prioritize paying millions to healthcare executives.
“Improving access to quality healthcare and rebuilding a robust healthcare workforce are goals that, until now, Governor Lombardo claimed to share with us. But when it came down to it, the governor chose to side with the healthcare CEOs and big corporations that lobbied hard against our bill. Apparently for Lombardo, campaign cash speaks louder than the voices of nurses, healthcare workers and our patients.
“Governor Lombardo’s shameful veto matters to all Nevadans – Republicans, Independents and Democrats – because everyone will eventually need hospital care for themselves or their loved ones. The governor’s refusal to fix the problems plaguing Nevada’s healthcare system will be remembered as we move toward the governor’s election next year. We vow to carry out an unprecedented voter mobilization effort, along with other healthcare advocates and community organizations, to send a strong message to all politicians: if you sell our patients out, you get voted out.”
- Jody Domineck, RN and SEIU Local 1107 Secretary-Treasurer, Elizabeth Bolhouse, RN and SEIU Local 1107 Chief Nursing Steward and Executive Board Member, Karen Pels-Jimenez, RN, National Nurses United.
“Gov. Lombardo chose to side with health care CEOs instead of protecting the safety of nurses, health care workers, and, most importantly, patients when he vetoed SB 182. Our frontline experiences as well as study after study prove that safe staffing ratios save lives. This is irrefutable. Short staffing leads to more infections, medical errors, complications, patient falls, readmissions and higher death rates.”
- Sandy Redding, RN, President, National Nurses United/National Nurses Organizing Committee
“I was deeply proud to sponsor Senate Bill 182 because I have heard directly from my constituents that they are alarmed by the understaffing and long wait times in our hospitals. For years, I have also heard directly from nurses and healthcare workers that they are struggling with utter physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. Our healthcare system is broken, and does not prioritize patients and our healthcare workforce. SB 182 was a common sense bill to make sure that nurses, nursing assistants and other healthcare workers have reasonable patient loads and can provide the highest quality, most compassionate care. It is deeply disappointing that Governor Lombardo chose to torpedo this critical bill. I will be working with nurses and healthcare workers to make sure that all my constituents, and all Nevadans, clearly understand that Governor Lombardo decided to stand with millionaire healthcare executives instead of standing up for patients.”
- State Senator Rochelle Nguyen
“For too long, many politicians in our country have sided with big healthcare corporations and CEOs over the needs of working people. With Senate Bill 182, Governor Lombardo had the opportunity to be a different kind of leader. But that would have taken courage and moral conviction. In the end, even though Governor Lombardo loudly proclaimed he wanted to rebuild the healthcare workforce and expand access to care, he showed his true colors and obediently followed the orders of the healthcare CEOs. So moving forward, the 20,000 members of our union will be directly holding the governor accountable for his decision. We are determined to elect real leaders in our state with the backbone to protect patient needs over corporate greed, so we can pass safe hospital staffing in the next legislative session.”
- SEIU Local 1107 Executive Director Sam Shaw & President Michelle Maese