(Updated July 2026)
Click to Read the House Co-Sponsorship Memo
PA State Rep. Tom Mehaffie – Prime Sponsor, House
PA State Rep. K.C. Tomlinson – Prime Sponsor, House
Click to Read the Senate Co-Sponsorship Memo
Senator Maria Collett, RN – Prime Sponsor, Senate
Nurses and Patients Deserve Better
Understaffing is not a new problem; however, its consequences following the pandemic are undeniable. When nurses are assigned too many patients, more patients die. It leads to injuries, burnout, and nurses leaving the bedside.
Nurses, Take the Lead!
Nursing organizations have spent years pushing for safe staffing legislation. Yet our representatives have failed to act. The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, Nurses of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania are coming together in an unprecedented collaboration to advocate for our patients and our profession to pass this essential legislation. We know it will save lives. We know it can work.
What We’re Doing About It
Pennsylvania needs legislation to ensure patient safety and nurse retention in our hospitals. The Patient Safety Act does exactly that. The measure will limit the number of patients a nurse can be assigned, depending on the level of care required. The limits will be set by nurses, which ensures a minimum standard of care that every Pennsylvanian deserves. This legislation is supported by PSNA, SEIU, PASNAP, and Nurses of PA.
Safe Staffing Means Safe Patients
- Every additional patient a nurse cares for increases the chance of death and medication errors.
- Safe staffing in hospitals can reduce nurse burnout by 30% and infections by over 6,000 per year.
- Safe staffing significantly reduces hospital readmissions, resulting in financial savings for our hospitals.
- States with safe staffing measures saw reductions in occupational injuries among nurses.
- Savings could play an important role in funding additional nursing staff.
- Lower patient-to-nurse staffing ratios have been associated with significantly lower rates of cardiac arrest, hospital-acquired pneumonia, respiratory failure, patient falls, and pressure ulcers.
Contact PSNA: Jordan Fuhrman, Director of Government Affairs (jfuhrman@psna.org)
The PSNA Political Action Committee, or PSNA-PAC, is a non-partisan organization funded by member donations. With these donations, PSNA-PAC can support pro-nursing candidates for the state House and Senate who have demonstrated their ability to defend and advance the nursing profession. We use only individual donations, not membership dues. Contributions are voluntary and not deductible for federal income tax purposes. PSNA-PAC is your voice in Harrisburg.