PROTECTIONS FOR SAFE HARBOR NURSES

HB 465 strengthens protections for New Mexico nurses who refuse unsafe assignments or medically unreasonable orders under the "safe harbor" provision. It requires healthcare facilities to create written processes allowing nurses to formally invoke safe harbor (with supervisor notification and documented reasons), conduct post-occurrence reviews involving other nurses, and prohibits retaliation like demotions, termination, or reporting to nursing boards for good-faith requests. The bill directly affects nurses facing unsafe work conditions and their healthcare employers, mandating specific procedural safeguards. It explicitly bans facility retaliation against nurses who use safe harbor, ensuring they can raise safety concerns without professional consequences. The law focuses on concrete policy changes to protect patient safety and nurse autonomy.