As hospital workers, we are on the frontlines of community health and safety. It is an important and rewarding career, but the rewards do not come without a certain amount of stress. The pandemic stretched us beyond our limits, and exposed the cracks in our system.

We cannot continue to provide the level of service and care that our communities need under our current conditions.

There are currently no standards for staff-to-patient ratios in Oregon, and that has led to crowded hospitals, substandard care for our patients, and extreme worker burnout. HB 2697 would create minimum staffing standards for nursing and hospital staff.

This bill would ensure that hospitals adhere to these standards by requiring them to post them on their websites, creating a system to report complaints, and enforcing penalties for hospitals that do not comply.

In order to move this legislation forward, lawmakers need to hear from you. Your stories are crucial to ensuring that we make an impact at this hearing, so please fill out the questions below as completely as possible. Your input makes a huge difference!

We will share your written testimonies with lawmakers at the hearing for HB 2697 on Tuesday, February 28 at 5PM, so please fill out the questions below as completely as possible.