This week is light on hearings for our bills, but we expect that to change shortly, with many of WSHA’s issues coming up in House and Senate committees. Among the issues that will be coming are nurse staffing requirements and the use of noncompete clauses when recruiting physicians.
Upcoming issue: Ensuring safe and responsive staffing
Washington State should be proud of our state’s record on patient safety, and our success in many ways can be attributed to high-quality, data-driven staff who are constantly looking for new ways to deliver better care. Hospitals need the flexibility to be able to staff their facilities based on the needs of their patient population, and WSHA opposes legislation mandating nurse staffing ratios, prohibiting the use of on-call shifts, or mandating uninterrupted breaks.
Rigid staffing requirements would treat all hospitals the same, regardless of their size or patient care needs. Hospitals need flexibility to respond to these needs at the local level. Click here to read more in WSHA’s issue brief. (Ian Corbridge)
Maintain flexibility in physician contracts
Noncompete clauses are commonly used when recruiting physicians, especially when physicians need assistance in relocating and getting established in new communities. Recruitment is taxing on a hospital’s or health system’s resources, with the costs potentially climbing to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Both urban and rural communities use noncompete clauses when recruiting. Restricting the use of these reasonable agreements could limit the number of physicians in our communities, as hospitals or health systems may be less willing to recruit physicians if they are unsure that they will recoup their initial investments to support their providers. Additionally, state law already regulates the use of noncompete clauses. Click here to read more in WSHA’s issue brief. (Zosia Stanley)
