“As a retired NICU nurse with over 40 years of clinical experience, I have been able to deliver compassionate care to many patients who start out as strangers and ultimately become like family. While this work has been deeply rewarding, I have seen how our healthcare system has drifted away from its core mission. One critical improvement that I would like to see is the implementation of safe staffing practices. Without fail, I would often see nurses stretched thin, forced to juggle too many critical patients with too few resources. This isn’t just a workforce issue, but a patient safety crisis. When nurses are overwhelmed, errors can occur, burnout increases, and ultimately patients suffer. We need a healthcare system that values people over profits, where staffing decisions are based on clinical need, not corporate margins. Ensuring safe nurse-to-patient ratios would be a meaningful step toward restoring dignity to patient care and protecting the frontline workers who deliver it“
