By DAVID KLEPPER

Associated Press

ALBANY (AP) - When the emergency room fills up - whether it’s a big accident, flu season or a stroke of misfortune - Brooklyn nurse Rose Green says she can find herself sprinting from room to room, trying to keep ahead of the whims of calamity.

She and other nurses from around New York state are urging state lawmakers to pass legislation that would set minimum staffing levels for hospitals and nursing homes, a rule that they said would improve patient outcomes by addressing a chronic staffing problem.

“There are times when you wind up with 16, 17 patients,” she said. “You cannot provide appropriate care to that many people.”