Code Red CT

05/21/2026

📊 Each extra patient a nurse takes on raises the risk of death by 8%.

A massive new study from the University of Pennsylvania just put hard numbers behind what nurses already know — unsafe staffing costs lives.

Researchers analyzed outcomes for over 547,000 patients cared for by roughly 2,800 nurses across 132 Pennsylvania hospitals.

The findings go beyond mortality — each additional patient also meant a 4% rise in readmissions and significantly longer hospital stays.

The fix? Safe ratios could prevent up to 3,000 deaths, avoid 2,100 readmissions, and save $305 million a year.

Would you support legally enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios in your state?

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05/21/2026

05/19/2026

The Trump Administration’s new rule classifying nurses, including those in advanced nursing degrees as “non-professional” is an insulting denigration of the caring profession.

This groundless definition by the Department of Education effectively caps federal student loans for advanced nursing students, sharply raising education costs at a time when we need more midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurse anesthetists.

Today in Norwich, I joined State Senator- Nurse Martha Marx, the Dean of the UCONN School of Nursing, the Connecticut Nursing Association, and rank-and-file nurses to call out this out-of-touch rule. 245,000 nurses signed a petition in strong opposition to the rule. Last week, I grilled Education Secretary McMahon, who devised this appalling measure. Congress must reverse it before it takes effect on July 1st.

05/19/2026

"When we all heard what the Trump administration did...stating that we're not a profession. We've worked so hard to make sure that we are seen as a profession, we're accepted as a profession." local 5119 State Senator Martha Marx

The cap came after the administration excluded advanced nursing degrees from a list of professional degrees.

05/19/2026

05/19/2026

The solution to these preventable tragedies is . The Hartford Courant’s latest exposé of Trinity Health Of New England administrators’ unsafe practices is a call to action:
https://www.courant.com/2026/05/19/report-confirms-third-patient-death-due-to-staff-shortage-at-ct-hospital/

05/19/2026

“Staffing was inadequate to meet the needs of patient care, treatment and/or services as evidenced by the lack of response to a patient’s deteriorating condition.”