HI HCR105

Hawaii State Center for Nursing is requested to conduct a study compiling recommended safe patient staffing ratios for various hospital units and health care settings.

The study must use staffing standards from HB 1865 (2026) and SB 2763 (2026) as the foundational framework and incorporate recommendations from 10 professional nursing specialty organizations, including critical care, emergency, obstetric, surgical, pediatric, and psychiatric nursing associations.

Findings and recommendations must be submitted to the Legislature and Department of Health and published in a publicly available online dashboard no later than 20 days before the Regular Session of 2027.

The resolution cites a 2025 Legislative Reference Bureau report showing higher nurse staffing ratios improve patient outcomes through shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, reduced infections, and fewer medication errors.

Hawaii's health care facilities are urged to implement safe patient staffing ratios reflecting the standards compiled by the Hawaii State Center for Nursing.