Supporters of a bill of rights for nursing home patients have gotten the go-ahead to start collecting signatures to put the issue before voters as an amendment to the Ohio Constitution. The Ohio Ballot Board voted Monday to allow the proposed constitutional amendment to move forward.
The group backing the "Nursing Facility Patient's Bill of Rights" measure must now collect nearly 443,000 valid signatures. But having passed this year's deadline, the issue wouldn't appear on a ballot until the 2022 general election at the earliest.
The proposed amendment would create specific guidelines for patient care, including nurse to patient ratios and minimum hours of direct care per patient.
Under the amendment a skilled nursing facility must have:
- One Licensed Nurse per every five patients with "higher medical acuity needs"
- One Certified Nurse Aide per ever six patients with "higher medical acuity needs"
- One Licensed Nurse per every eight patients with "lower medical acuity needs"
- One Certified Nurse Aide per every eight patients with "lower medical acuity needs"
Supporters told the ballot board that this issue appears to be unique and not part of a national movement.
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