Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) Monday signed a bill into law mandating nurse staffing levels in Bay State intensive care units (ICU), according to Littler Mendelson. The law requires either one or two patients per nurse in ICUs, depending on patient stability "as assessed by the acuity tool and by the staff nurses in the unit, including the nurse manager or the nurse manager's designee when needed to resolve a disagreement." The acuity tool, the law states, will be selected or developed at each hospital's discretion, with input from staff nurses and other appropriate staff and certified by the state department of public health. Article