Over the past few years, 400 hospice workers have joined NUHW, and they’re using their collective power to make the hospice industry better for patients and workers alike.
Starting January 1, California will become the first state with hospice ratios that include staffing ratios, and the ratios reflect what NUHW members advocated for in recent hearings conducted by the California Department of Public Health.
In announcing the new regulations this month, the agency accepted NUHW recommendation for a 1:12 RN-to-patient ratio as opposed to the 1:15 ratio sought by hospice operators. The agency also accepted NUHW’s recommendations that staffing be based on patient acuity to ensure that workers have similar workloads and that hospices implement patient care committees that give nurses input into how care is provided.
“These regulations are going to help us provide better care because we’ll have more time to dedicate to each individual patient and more say in how care is provided,” said Sibyl Neal-Adesokan, a nurse at Sutter Care at Home’s Alameda Hospice. “This process has opened our eyes to the power we have as union members to advocate for ourselves and the people we serve.”
The new regulations were spurred by a recent state law that responded to evidence of mounting fraud in the hospice industry as for-profit hospice companies proliferated and exploited rules that create an incentive to register as many patients as possible and provide them as little care as possible.
NUHW members who work at Sutter Care at Home and Providence Hospice provided written and oral testimony in 2023 as state officials began formulating hospice regulations.
“I’m proud that we did our part to strengthen protections for workers and patients, and I’m excited to work under these new standards and make sure that my employer and others are following them,” Neal-Adesokan, said.
