To Congress

A Petition to Congress

To Put Enough Nurses in Nursing Homes!

In November 2000, NCCNHR members kicked off a national petition drive appealing to citizens across America to ask their senators and representatives to support mandatory staffing standards in nursing homes. To date, almost 90,000 Americans from 49 states and the District of Columbia have signed the petition, which says:

More than one million Americans live in nursing homes where there are not enough nurses and nursing assistants to give good care, according to a report to Congress.  Forty percent of nursing home residents are malnourished or dehydrated because no one helps them eat and drink regularly. Thousands have painful bedsores that could be prevented.  Thousands can’t move painfully wasted arms and legs because no one helps them exercise.  Many lie for hours in their own waste every day.  Medical conditions are ignored until it is too late.

The government must stop unnecessary suffering, illness and death caused by understaffing in nursing homes!

We, the undersigned voters, call on our Senators and Representatives to support mandatory staffing standards in nursing homes.  We urge you to require nursing homes to provide appropriate ratios of nurses and nursing assistants to residents.

If you would like to know more about the petition drive, click here.