This bill establishes the Maine Quality Care Act in order to ensure adequate direct-care registered nurse staffing assignments in health care facilities, including hospitals, freestanding emergency departments and ambulatory surgical facilities, to provide safe and effective patient care. It establishes minimum direct-care registered nurse staffing requirements based on patient care unit and patient needs, specifies the method to calculate a health care facility's compliance with the staffing requirements, protects direct-care registered nurses from retaliation and includes notice, record-keeping and enforcement requirements.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1639, SP 656: 22.1817