“This is a great day for our patients and for the thousands of frontline caregivers across the state who have been working for years to make our hospitals safer.”
- Cassie White, Registered Nurse at Women & Infants Hospital in the Mother-Baby Unit
This is a great day for our patients and for the thousands of frontline caregivers across the state who have been working for years to make our hospitals safer. We are grateful to Senator Murray, Representative Fellala and all the leaders in the House and Senate who passed this law to create more accountability and open discussion between nurses and hospital leadership. Ultimately, we all want the same thing: safe and healthy outcomes for our patients. Working together, I believe we can find solutions that prioritize patient safety and support the nurses who care for them every day."
- Cassie White, Registered Nurse at Women & Infants Hospital in the Mother-Baby Unit
- Listening to hospital workers and patients
- Reviewing staffing and safety data
- Hearing from hospitals about staffing decisions
- Recommending next steps to the General Assembly
Staff shortages - and the dangerous conditions they create - was one of the driving forces that prompted our three month strike. I personally experienced a serious injury when my unit was extremely acute and staffing levels were unacceptably low. Staff and patient safety should be non-negotiable and the bare minimum expected. But there has been very little accountability in how current staffing ratios are determined because hospitals were not breaking any laws. The Staffing Commission is vital toward creating a safer environment for frontline staff and our patients.
- Beth Iams, Activities Coordinator, Butler Hospital
Effective January, 2026, The Joint Commission, which accredits every hospital in Rhode Island, has identified nurse staffing as a national performance priority tied to hospital accreditation. The Hospital Staffing Commission is a key component of ensuring accountability in implementing these performance standards.
Safe staffing is preventative care for our population. As a lactation consultant, education is critical to our work in supporting new mothers and babies. I am very hopeful this forum will ultimately lead to better care and support for our patients and more meaningful communication with our employer. Change will not happen overnight but every constructive conversation brings us one step closer to building a hospital that our patients, families, and staff deserve.
- Nancy Chandley-Adams, Lactation Consultant and Registered Nurse, Women & Infants Hospital.
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District 1199 SEIU New England represents 29,000 health care and service workers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, 1199 SEIU NE represents 7,500 members.1199 SEIU NE is affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – a union of over 2 million members across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.