State health officials said Monday they have stopped accepting hospital requests for new fast-tracked staffing waivers, which allowed a higher nurse-to-patient ratio due to pandemic conditions; for example, hospitals were allowed to assign a single nurse to three patients instead of just two.
Any new waivers must now be approved by the California Department of Health through the standard waiver process.
Stephanie Roberson, director of government relations for the California Nurses Association, says the state approved more than 300 such waivers.
"One more patient in an ICU is very critical to the other patient or patients that our nurses have to care for," she said. "It’s literally a matter of life and death."
Waivers of most nurse-to-patient ratios already granted will end on Feb. 8.
The California Hospital Association says it will work with the state to ensure staffing ratios do not put patients at risk.
“While COVID‐19 cases and hospitalizations have been tapering, the current level is still more than double that of the summer surge, and the need for specialized nurses in certain regions has been beyond what we are able to secure," said Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the association.