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After a bitter and costly campaign, Massachusetts voters rejected Question 1 of the ballot, which would have imposed strict limits on the number of patients assigned to hospital nurses.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association, a union representing approximately 23,000 nurses, sponsored the question of voting. Union members argued that limits were needed to ensure that patients received safe care.
Donna Kelly-Williams, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association, acknowledged the loss Tuesday night, but insisted the vote was needed.
"We know that, as I'm talking to you here, there are nurses who treat too many patients and that these patients are unnecessarily threatened," said Kelly-Williams, according to her prepared remarks. "And the problem continues to grow every year. The status quo is not a solution here.
A hospital-led coalition opposed the issue, saying the voting was too rigid and expensive. Hospital officials argued that if the issue were resolved, hospitals should reduce the number of important medical services – or perhaps even close down completely.
An independent public body, the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, estimated that question 1 would have required hospitals to hire up to 3,101 additional nurses and would have cost the health system more than $ 900 million a year. 39; State.
The nurses were divided on the controversial issue. Some believed that the prescribed number of cases would allow them to take better care of each patient. Others argued that the ballot measure would deprive them of their ability to use their professional judgment.
Hospitals spent nearly $ 25 million trying to defeat the vote, more than double the $ 12 million spent by the union to promote the issue.
Volunteers and staff from both campaigns spent the last days before the elections making calls and going door-to-door to defend their interests.
Kate Norton, a spokeswoman for the "Yes" campaign, said 1,850 volunteers were working to get Tuesday's vote.
"The support is enthusiastic and strong," said Norton. "We feel good about getting into election day. We have an excellent operation. "
Over the weekend, campaign volunteers discovered that many voters were still undecided, Norton said. "When they talk to us. . . they say "yes," she said.
Polls suggested that support for the issue had decreased, and most voters planned to vote "no" for the measure of the vote.
"We are cautiously optimistic," said Dan Cence, a spokesman for the coalition who objected to question 1. We know we have updated the work. "
Hundreds of No On 1 volunteers were due to go to the polls in the state on Tuesday.
Each campaign reported distributing more than 30,000 grass panels.
Voters were split at the polls Tuesday.
Michelle Resendes, 46, a registered nurse at Norwood Hospital, wore a sticker on her shirt to support question 1 as she went to the polls at North Attleborough High School.
"I think it's the safest thing for patients," she said.
Windsor Lindor, a 34-year-old from Brockton, said the issue of nurses was the most difficult to resolve – and that his wife was a nurse. After seeking his opinion, he said, he voted no.
"I just did not want to change the status quo," Lindor told West Elm Street's War Memorial.
The nurses union has pushed for legislation to set patient limits for two decades. In 2014, the union reached a compromise: limits in intensive care units. Nurses in the intensive care unit are now limited to one or two patients at a time. But lawmakers in Massachusetts have never supported a larger bill on nurse staffing.
Governor Charlie Baker, a re-elected Republican, opposed Question 1. Some Democrats in the Legislature also voted against the vote.
Baker's opponent, Democrat Jay Gonzalez, supported the voting, along with other notable Democrats, including Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Hospital officials say they need flexibility to staff their units because it is difficult to predict when the number of patients will go up or down – especially in the emergency room. However, union officials say nurses routinely face too many patients, which increases the risk of delays and errors.
California is the only state to set limits on the number of patients, also known as the nurse / patient ratio. The California law, which came into force in 2004, is less strict than the Massachusetts poll, and studies on its effects are mixed. Some studies have revealed improvements in the results after the entry into force of the limits of the number of patients, others not.
Question 1 would have required hospitals to respect patient limitations at all hours of the day and night, including when nurses take meal breaks.
Watch the live results of the 2018 midterm elections here.
See the full election results here.
Correspondent Morgan Hughes contributed to this report. Priyanka Dayal McCluskey can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @priyanka_dayal.
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