Why Question 1 will get the YES vote!
This November, the number one question on Massachusetts ballots is the Nurse-Patient Assignment Limits Initiative. This is the most controversial question of the three posed to Massachusetts residents and it can be assumed the vote will be a YES vote.
From the very beginning this has been an actively dividing hot button topic between all workers involved with healthcare across the state. Big money has been spent trying to get this question front and center and force you to be anything but ignorant on this question. So what exactly is Question 1?
what exactly is Question 1?
Question 1 is about setting patient limits on nurses who work in hospitals. A vote in favor, "YES," for question one would be for having a set number or patients each nurse can have in their care at hospitals. A vote of "NO," would allow only hospitals to determine how many patients a nurse can care for at any time regardless of the level of care that each patient needs. On the surface it might make sense to let hospitals dictate the how many patients a nurse can handle while working, until you remember that hospitals are also in the business of making money first and foremost and that comes first even to patient care. Don't believe me, try going to the hospital without insurance or needing medicine, care or a procedure done only to find out insurance does not cover the cost, will they do it for free? No.
There was an awesome public debate, hosted at the University of Massachusetts, between a nurse and a hospital director over the benefits and drawbacks on question 1. The director made a through case in favor of a "NO" vote, the nurse made a better care for why you should vote "YES," on question 1.
The best point made by the Director was that by limiting the number of nurses to patients in the hospital effectively limits the amount of patients that can be admitted. The nurse's best argument was that nurses can give the best care to patients when they have more time to care for the patient and that independent studies have shown more patients to fewer nurses causes higher mortality rates and longer hospital stays.
So besides a strong argument in favor of Question 1, versus the opposing side, there is something to think about. What do we want the future of Massachusetts healthcare to be and will how Question 1 will effect us, the states residence as we age and ever need to be in the hospital? What population benefits the most from a YES vote and which one gets hurts most by a NO vote? Which population also has the highest turn out of voters historically? If you think people over the age of 50 who are most at risk of being in a hospital you guessed correct. So unless the over 50 population decided that their personal health was not as important as the hospital managements end of the year, than the Massachusetts Question 1, Nurse-Patient Assignment Limits Initiative will be and should be voted YES!
Also, if you can not tell by the picture, nurses will vote YES, and all the ones I have spoke to have confirmed this!
From the very beginning this has been an actively dividing hot button topic between all workers involved with healthcare across the state. Big money has been spent trying to get this question front and center and force you to be anything but ignorant on this question. So what exactly is Question 1?
what exactly is Question 1?
Question 1 is about setting patient limits on nurses who work in hospitals. A vote in favor, "YES," for question one would be for having a set number or patients each nurse can have in their care at hospitals. A vote of "NO," would allow only hospitals to determine how many patients a nurse can care for at any time regardless of the level of care that each patient needs. On the surface it might make sense to let hospitals dictate the how many patients a nurse can handle while working, until you remember that hospitals are also in the business of making money first and foremost and that comes first even to patient care. Don't believe me, try going to the hospital without insurance or needing medicine, care or a procedure done only to find out insurance does not cover the cost, will they do it for free? No.
There was an awesome public debate, hosted at the University of Massachusetts, between a nurse and a hospital director over the benefits and drawbacks on question 1. The director made a through case in favor of a "NO" vote, the nurse made a better care for why you should vote "YES," on question 1.
The best point made by the Director was that by limiting the number of nurses to patients in the hospital effectively limits the amount of patients that can be admitted. The nurse's best argument was that nurses can give the best care to patients when they have more time to care for the patient and that independent studies have shown more patients to fewer nurses causes higher mortality rates and longer hospital stays.
So besides a strong argument in favor of Question 1, versus the opposing side, there is something to think about. What do we want the future of Massachusetts healthcare to be and will how Question 1 will effect us, the states residence as we age and ever need to be in the hospital? What population benefits the most from a YES vote and which one gets hurts most by a NO vote? Which population also has the highest turn out of voters historically? If you think people over the age of 50 who are most at risk of being in a hospital you guessed correct. So unless the over 50 population decided that their personal health was not as important as the hospital managements end of the year, than the Massachusetts Question 1, Nurse-Patient Assignment Limits Initiative will be and should be voted YES!
Also, if you can not tell by the picture, nurses will vote YES, and all the ones I have spoke to have confirmed this!
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