Gov. Bill Ritter today signed into law House Bill 1133, the Health Care Worker Whistle-Blower Protection Bill, as well as an executive order establishing the Nurse Workforce and Patient Care Task Force.

"I’m extremely pleased to be signing both of these measures today," Gov. Ritter said. "They both speaks directly to the value of leadership, to the value of how we govern, how we can come together to find common ground, and how we can move forward together. The common ground here: Providing the best possible health care and consumer information to the people of Colorado, while also protecting the interests of our health care workers and our hospitals."

The Health Care Worker Whistle-Blower Protection Bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, and Sen. Bob Hagedorn, D-Aurora. The new law will protect nurses and other health care workers against retaliation for disclosing patient-safety concerns.

The executive order establishes the Nursing Workforce and Patient Care Task Force. The Governor’s Office facilitated negotiations with the Colorado Hospital Association and Service Employees International Union to reach agreement on the executive order.

The order establishes a task force with 14 voting members and seven ex-officio members. "This task force will look at national models and studies with an eye toward the relationship between nurse-staffing levels and patient care," Ritter said. "It will recommend ways for us here in Colorado to standardize nurse-staffing data and the reporting of that information to the public and to consumers."

The task force will make final recommendations to the governor and the legislature by the end of the year. "I’m extremely proud of the Colorado Hospital Association, SEIU and everyone who participated in this process," Ritter said. "This demonstrates that collaboration, that sitting down and hammering out differences can lead to good public policy for the people of Colorado."