As the outgoing and incoming Presidents of the Medical Staff at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, we feel a responsibility to make our opinions known. We oppose Question 1. We believe that Question 1 is misguided and will result in unintended consequences. Our primary concern is quality care. The greatest impacts on quality are made when staff work as a team to improve systems and improve communication. Simply adding more nurses will not result in better care.
Massachusetts hospitals continue to excel, even compared to California, the only state with government-mandated nurse-staff ratios. Health care is expensive. Adding more costs to the system without any significant improvement in outcomes is wasteful. It will lead to higher health insurance costs that could leave some individuals and families without coverage. Making health care less accessible takes us in the wrong direction and will harm patients and families in our community. Another unintended consequence if Question 1 passes will be the impact on services. There is a nursing shortage in the United States, and if Question 1 passes, Massachusetts hospitals will have to quickly recruit, hire and train 5,000 nurses. Because this would be an impossible task, some hospitals will be forced to reduce services or even close hospitals beds if they are unable to staff them.
Making health care less accessible takes us in the wrong direction. Question 1 would add $8-9 million in expenses at Cooley Dickinson. If we had a spare $8-9 million, we would make different choices about where to invest those dollars. We believe the money would be better spent continuing to focus on community needs such as addressing the opioid crisis, for example. As physicians, we value the importance of gathering evidence and choosing the best course of action. Simply adding more nurses to inpatient units is not a proven strategy. We should use our health care dollars more wisely by making investments in prevention and community services, improving systems and investing in technology. We urge the community to Vote NO on Question 1. It is the wrong approach.
R.F. Conway, MD and Geoffrey M. Zucker MD, FACP
Northampton