NY hospital patients in the dark about nurse staffing levels, report says

Most New York hospitals are keeping the public in the dark about whether they have enough nurses to properly care for patients, according to a report by a consumer group. The report by New Yorkers for Patient & Family Empowerment found Syracuse's Upstate University Hospital is the only major hospital in the state that posts nurse-to-patient ratios for its various units on its website. The report says patients and their loved ones need that information because nursing shortages put patients at risk of infections, pneumonia, cardiac arrest, falls, inadequate pain treatment and even death. The group's report recommends all hospitals publish independently audited nurse-to-patient staffing ratios on their websites.