Stress and burnout are still causing an exodus of workers from New Jersey hospitals, according to the state's largest nurses union.

That's because the health care facilities are still largely understaffed.

The union held a rally in South Jersey this week urging lawmakers and hospital administrators to move a controversial piece of legislation mandating safe patient to staff ratios at a time when other nurses unions have made similar demands with success.

Melissa Ross Cooper was there.

The number one nurses are migrating out of hospitals is unsafe.

Staffing.

The number two is very closely related and that is stress due to unsafe staffing.

Until we have mandatory staffing ratios, we will never be able to retain the nurses that we hire.

Debbie White, president of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees Union, expressing her frustration over what she says is an ongoing staffing crisis in hospitals, releasing a new position paper titled Code Red, where data from a 2022 statewide survey shows nearly a third of nurses have left the bedside in the past three years.

Of those nurses that remain, 72% have considered leaving recently, and newer nurses are the most likely to consider leaving.

95% of those have five years or less experience.

We can recruit and recruit and recruit, but we will never fill all our positions because as we recruit, nurses continue to leave the bedside.

So nurses and other health care workers are demanding hospital administrators and lawmakers improve conditions on the job.

Legislation known as the Patient Protection and Safe Staffing Act would mandate safe patients as staff ratios in hospitals.

As nurses.

We know how important it is to have enough nurses on a unit to provide the highest quality of care to our patients, and we know the right number of patients we should be providing care to during our shifts.

Doris Bo is president of the Local 511 AIDS at Cooper University and is currently in negotiations with the hospital to improve nurse to patient ratios within their contracts.

If by having fewer patients, we're able to spend more time with the patients, we can communicate better and with them and their families.

It is those conversations that can ease some of their anxiety and help them to understand the information they need to know so they can get better.

Every night when they come home.

I'm like, Did I do a good enough job with my patients?

Because I feel like every day that I'm working, I feel overwhelmed by all these responsibilities.

We I have to take on this.

A nurse.

But hospitals aren't supportive of a patient to staff ratio mandate.

Kathy Bennett is the president and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association, releasing a statement saying delivering quality, equitable care is job one for New Jersey hospitals and their 150,000 team members.

Thanks to their skills and dedication, New Jersey is recognized nationally for safe, reliable health care and flexible nurse staffing ratios are esthetic and ineffective, too inconsistent with modern clinical practice.

A one size fits all nurse staffing ratio emphasizes staff roles yesterday, rather than a collaborative team based model that places the patient firmly at the center.

We now have a wealth of data showing the enormous benefits to patients, to nurses and even to the hospitals with mandatory nurse to patient assignments.

Patients have better outcomes, less complications, lower death rates and much higher patient satisfaction scores.

Health care workers say they'll continue to fight for better staffing ratios so they can provide their patients with the quality care they deserve.

Frances While I News, I'm Melissa Ross.

Cooper.