Dear Editor,

I am an RN with 25 years experience. Health-care workers and their patients have had an extremely trying year.

Burnout was a problem before COVID-19 hit with 63% of nurses reporting inadequate staffing. This is the highest factor of job dissatisfaction in our profession. Yet, healthcare workers never stopped giving care.

Nursing organizations including Nurses of Pa, Nurse Alliance of SEIU Pennsylvania, PASNAP, JNESO, and Pennsylvania State Nurses Association have come together to form the Patient Safety Act, House Bill 106 and Senate Bill 240. It will increase the number of patient care hours a nursing home resident is allotted to receive from 2.7 to 4.1 daily.

It will limit the number of patients a nurse can be assigned. When nurses are assigned too many patients, more patients die.

We are advocating for our patients and our profession. Please contact your local legislators asking for their support for the Patient Safety Act.

Thank you so much.

Eileen C. Kelly,

Sheffield