(Columbus, OH) Mandatory overtime for nurses may soon be a thing of the past in Ohio.
A shortage of nurses is what's prompting a bill at the Ohio Statehouse that would ban hospitals from requiring nurses to work overtime. Debate on the bill is expected to begin this week.
State representative Robert Sprague says he's concerned about exhausted nurses working long hours and the preventable medical errors that could result. The Findlay Republican is being backed by the Ohio Nurses Association on the bill, whose leader says nurses sometimes work 12 hour shifts on back-to-back days without lunch breaks.
A group representing Ohio's hospitals says, however, nurses working 12-hour shifts provides more flexibility in treating patients.
Ohio has about 200,000 registered nurses. 18 other states already ban compulsory overtime for nurses.