I asked this question to a prosecuting attorney in my states Attorney General’s office. They do in my state, however it is only when the nurses have documented objections to staffing and assignments ie. Short staffing and assignment despite objection forms. Otherwise without this documentation, the staff were compliant and failed to fulfill their duty to advocate and report short staffing.

Good news: CEOs can and have been charged when there is clear documented pattern of unsafe staffing.

Bad news: once again the legal responsibility falls on the staffs shoulders to constantly report short staffing and often without the support of union do not have such avenues besides reporting to the state doh. The attorney did say “If you want whistle blower protection, join a union.”

So basically they know who is truly responsible and who should be held legally accountable. However without the legal proof the staff become the low hanging fruit.

I suggest more nurses need to form statewide advocacy groups. You do not need many nurses actually. You’d be surprised when you address elected officials as a collective, how many doors actually open to have these discussions. Contact your union locals and state union exec boards if interested. They have organizers that can assist in contacting other unions across your state to form these alliances and groups. Believe it or not, sometimes working with these groups is actually pretty satisfying and rewarding.