Nursing Group To Discuss Limiting Nurses’ Hours

The Wisconsin Nursing Coalition in on Jan. 25 will hold a discussion about whether to limit the hours a nurse can work.

The decision comes after the death of a patient at St. Mary’s Hospital due to a nurse’s medication error.

There are currently no such regulations, and some are concerned about fatigue. Others said that maintaining continuity between caregiver and patient improves the quality of care.

“We would take the position that each individual nurse best (knows) when they can work a set of hours or not. There are certainly circumstances in which hospitals really need the flexibility to say to someone, ‘We need, for safe patient care, to keep you here,” said Judy Warmuth of the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

Former St. Mary’s nurse Julie Thao had worked back-to-back shifts totaling 16 hours, and then returned the next morning at 7 a.m. on July 5, the day Jasmine Gant died at the hospital.

Previous Stories:

November 10, 2006: Former St. Mary’s Nurse Makes First Court Appearance
November 4, 2006: Attorney Says Gant Family Negotiating With St. Mary?s
November 3, 2006: Nurse Charged In Teen’s Death At St. Mary’s
August 18, 2006: Nurse Involved In Death No Longer At St. Mary’s
August 2, 2006: St. Mary’s Corrective Plan Gets Final Approval
July 27, 2006: St. Mary’s Submits Corrective Plans To Authorities
July 25, 2006: Group Seeks Report From St. Mary’s After Medication Error
July 22, 2006: State Confirms Medical Error In Hospital Death Of Teen
July 19, 2006: St. Mary’s Officials Defend Care Amid Patient Safety Questions
July 14, 2006: Agency Says It Will Investigate Nurse In Connection With St. Mary’s Death
July 14, 2006: St. Mary’s Staffer On Administrative Leave After Teen’s Death
July 12, 2006: Source: Teen Died Of Medication Error At St. Mary’s Hospital
July 10, 2006: Coroner Investigating Teen’s Death At St. Mary’s Hospital