HB 2697 Has Passed in Both The House And The Senate!
As of June 22, Oregon House Bill 2697 has passed both the House and the Senate! We have had a wild ride to get to this point: months of negotiations with hospitals and legislators, then our powerful House hearing in February, and next a six-week Senate Republican walkout denying quorum to pass bills… and not to mention the years of mistreatment of nurses and allied health care workers by hospitals that brought us to this point.
We believe HB 2697 is vital to fixing Oregon’s collapsing healthcare system. It will put numerical minimum safe staffing ratios for nurses and CNAs to patients in hospital settings by unit; expand the staffing committee structure to service, technical, and professional allied health care workers; and require the state to enforce the staffing law – including for missed meal and rest breaks. Hospitals must comply with the nurse-to-patient ratios on June 1, 2024, and the new staffing committees must be set up on or before December 31, 2024. Increased mandatory state enforcement begins June 1, 2025.
Thank you to those of you who showed up to provide testimony, meet with legislators, post on your social media, and tell your coworkers about the bill to get us across the finish line! We are also grateful to our labor partners, legislators, and other stakeholders for supporting our efforts.
But the work is just beginning: this fall, ONA will engage in rulemaking with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) to guide them in implementing some of the most complex elements of the bill. And, between now and when the ratios and new committees of HB 2697 take effect next year, we will be training our staffing committee members to transition towards implementing those provisions of the bill into staffing plans. Once the bill takes effect, we know that some hospitals will still try to skirt the staffing law, so we will all be accountable for filing timely complaints to the Oregon Health Authority and ensuring that the agency enforces the law.
For today, congratulations to Oregon’s nurses and allied healthcare workers! We are optimistic that Oregonians who work in hospitals and who are patients will see better outcomes.
For more details on the specifics of the bill, you can reference the amended bill walkthrough.
Get Involved and Share Your Staffing Story with ONA
Across the state, nurses are under enormous pressure due to a decades-long staffing crisis. As the Oregon Nurses Association looks to push forward legislation to address the core causes of the staffing crisis, we need YOUR stories. Please take a moment to share your examples of how unsafe staffing has impacted you, your patients, and your profession.
Are you experiencing burnout from unsafe staffing? Have staffing levels impacted your ability to provide the best care to your patients? Do you have examples of when management has asked you to take on an unsafe patient assignment due to staff shortages?
Are you willing to write a letter or email to your legislator? Or step in front of a TV camera to tell your story? Maybe you’d be willing to host an event with your nursing colleagues where we can talk through our legislation?
YOUR stories will help ONA explain this crisis to elected officials and the general public – and are crucial to our work to address the staffing crisis!
Click here to get involved or to share your staffing story
Local Advocacy
One way you can start spreading the word about unsafe staffing is by submitting a “letter to the editor” or "LTE" to your local newspaper. Here you can find some sample letters that nurses and community members can use to start raising the important issue
of unsafe staffing in your local community!
Click the link to download the corresponding document format next to the sample title below. Each sample is available in PDF or Microsoft Word format.
You can also get familiar with the issue, and how best to talk with friends about staffing, by reviewing these talking points:
Spread the Word on Social Media
Social media posts are a great way to raise awareness of the crisis we are facing. Here are some images that you can use on your Facebook and Instagram accounts! Click on the image to view/download the image to share.
Nurse Staffing Memes:
Key Statistical Graphics:
