California nurses will now be able to care for fewer patients at once.
As of this week, no new expedited staffing waivers will be accepted. When Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency last March, the State Public Health Director allowed hospitals to get waivers for some staffing protocols. Current law requires minimum ratios of one nurse to every two patients in the ICU. When waivers were allowed, that number went up to one nurse to every three patients. Next week, all currently approved waivers will expire. Hospitals that have staffing waivers will be monitored by the state health department to make sure they go back to the required staffing levels.