According to the website of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, who supported the bill, this legislation includes the following provisions:

• "The bill directs the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to develop and implement staffing standards and enforceable limits on the number of hospital patients assigned to a registered nurse at any one time

• "The staffing standards would be developed within 12 months of the bill’s passage and be based on scientific research on nurse staffing levels, patient outcomes, expert testimony, and standards of practice for each specialty area.

• "The bill calls for the safe staffing limits to be implemented in all teaching hospitals by 2009, with implementation in all community hospitals by 2011.
  

• "The bill allows DPH to grant waivers to hospitals in financial distress.
  

• "The bill provides flexibility in staffing and accounts for patients who require more care. Once established, the staffing levels will be adjusted up or down based on patients needs using a standardized, DPH-approved system for measuring patient needs.

• "The Act will reduce errors caused by fatigue and overwork by prohibiting hospitals from forcing nurses into mandatory overtime.  It will also prevent hospital administrators from moving nurses into unfamiliar assignments without proper orientation.

• "The Act prevents the reduction of support services, including services provided by licensed practical nurses, aides, and technicians.

• "The bill establishes a number of nurse recruitment initiatives—sought by the hospital industry and supported by the Coalition—to increase the supply of nurses by providing nursing scholarships and mentorship programs, as well as support for increases in nursing faculty to educate new nurses.  It also  creates refresher programs to assist nurses who want to return to practice at the hospital bedside.  A survey of Massachusetts nurses found that more than 65 percent of those not practicing in hospitals would be likely to return if a law providing safe limits was passed.   In California, where similar limits have been in place for three years, 80,000 nurses have returned to the bedside, according to the California Board of Nursing.

• "The bill establishes strong consumer protections for safe RN staffing, including a prominent posting of the daily RN staffing standards in each unit."

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