Mayor Nicholas Sacco and the Township Commissioners issued a proclamation at their meeting on Wednesday, May 8 supporting NJ healthcare workers in their negotiations for safe staffing ratios in their contract.

 

There are approximately 146,840 licensed nurses in New Jersey, and only 78,340 are employed. A 2022 survey of New Jersey nurses found that nearly a third of nurses have left hospitals in the past three years. Of those remaining in hospitals, 72% are considering leaving, and an alarming 95% of those with 0-5 years of experience say they want to leave.

 

The number one reason nurses are leaving hospitals is poor staffing and the number two reason is burnout and stress. Understaffing at hospitals and other healthcare facilities has been an issue for decades and has led to a severe crisis of retention of staff in our hospitals.

 

Hospital nurse staffing ratios mandated in California 20 years ago are associated with better retention of nurses and lower turnover costs for hospitals. These same staffing ratios are also associated with better patient outcomes, lower patient mortality, higher patient satisfaction, and higher reimbursement rates for hospitals.

 

The Board of Commissioners of the Township of North Bergen supports healthcare workers attempting to resolve these matters through establishing safe staffing standards in collective bargaining agreements, and fully supports the proposed legislations and hereby urges the NJ Legislature to pass Assembly Bill No. 3683/Senate No. 2700.