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PA bill would end required overtime by health workers

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A new bill working its way through the Pennsylvania legislature would ban the state's hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and long-term-care providers from demanding nurses and other clinical workers to work overtime. 

The bill, which has passed both chambers of the state's legislature, includes clinical workers who aren't considered supervisors in union contracts, and those who earn hourly wages and those who are temporary workers. On the other hand, it excludes doctors, physician assistants and dentists, as well as other jobs not directly related to care such as clerical and maintenance functions.

The rules aren't without exceptions, included to mollify the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. The measure includes language which allows healthcare employers to require overtime under certain specific circumstances, including unforeseeable declared emergencies, unforeseen or extraordinary events (read disasters, terrorism or the like) that impact their staffing needs or big vacancies that substantially affect patient safety. (The bill specifically notes that chronic short-staffing won't cut it as an excuse for mandating overtime.)

To learn more about this bill:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

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Comments

This seems to be a necessary component to modern day health care to ensure patient safety and a workforce that will continue to remain in the health care industry.

Help me understand: "making the decision to stop putting patients at risk"... does that mean we'll finally see random hair testing for narcotics? Will hospitals and schools FINALLY care enough about safety & quality to PROACTIVELY dismiss and de-license addicts?

Current urine tests are well announced and easily maskable. In the meantime, past firings and vice arrests are also ignored. SAFETY FIRST IS A JOKE UNTIL WE RID HEALTHCARE OF UNTRUSTWORTHY JUNKIES WITH CHEMICALLY-ALTERED, ETHICS-COMPROMISED JUDGMENT.

Would *you* want your loved one (or yourself) treated by a lying heroin-addicted ICU-RN?? I hope the families of all our dead-before-their-time patients by Nurse Feel Goode sue for wrongful death. Maybe then we'll take seriously the daily risks of junkies in medicine.

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