June 24, 2026
(Columbus, OH)—The Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) is setting the record straight regarding Senate Bill 423 and its relationship to Ohio’s healthcare staffing crisis.
Recent public discussion has inaccurately characterized SB 423 as a solution to Ohio’s healthcare staffing shortages. That characterization is not correct. The legislation does not address the underlying conditions driving nurses and health professionals away from direct patient care.
Ohio’s workforce challenges are not caused by a lack of staffing platforms or contractor opportunities. They are driven by the conditions nurses and health professionals face every day in healthcare settings across the state—conditions that make it increasingly difficult to remain in bedside practice.
Across Ohio, nurses and health professionals continue to report chronic understaffing, workplace violence, excessive workloads, burnout, and moral injury. Too often, caregivers are placed in situations where they know the care their patients need but lack the time, staffing, or resources to provide it safely. These conditions contribute to workforce turnover, staffing instability, and risks to patient care.
SB 423 expands reliance on temporary staffing arrangements and contractor-based workforce models, while failing to address safe staffing standards, workplace violence, or the conditions that continue to drive experienced caregivers out of direct patient care. This approach fragments care, weakens continuity, and ultimately places patients at greater risk by increasing reliance on providers who may not have the unit-specific knowledge and experience needed to safely manage complex, rapidly changing clinical situations.
Ohio is not facing a staffing supply problem. Ohio is facing a workforce retention crisis.
Temporary staffing may address immediate vacancies, but it does not resolve the conditions that drive experienced nurses and health professionals from the bedside. When caregivers leave due to unsafe staffing, workplace violence, burnout, or unsustainable workloads, healthcare systems lose expertise and patients lose continuity of care.
The Ohio General Assembly already has legislation before it that directly addresses these issues. HB 535/SB 373 would strengthen hospital staffing committees and ensure frontline caregivers have a meaningful voice in staffing decisions. HB 521, the Ohio Nurse Workforce and Safe Patient Care Act, focuses on workforce retention and patient safety through staffing protections and accountability measures.
ONA encourages policymakers to focus on solutions that address the real drivers of Ohio’s healthcare workforce crisis and improve conditions for both caregivers and patients.
Ohio’s staffing challenges will not be resolved through gimmicks and temporary fixes. Sustainable progress requires confronting the conditions that drive nurses and health professionals from the bedside and ensuring they have the support needed to stay.
For additional context, see ONA’s 2026 Workforce Safety Report and White Paper on Safe Nurse Staffing in Ohio Hospitals.
The Ohio Nurses Association is Ohio’s professional union for nurses and health professionals, dedicated to uniting and empowering nurses and healthcare workers, championing their rights, promoting professional practice, and advocating for quality care for all patients in Ohio.
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