Minnesota hospitals and nurses are moving past differences to back a compromise to track and study how patient care units are staffed.
 
The agreement notched late Wednesday defers an effort by unionized nurses to impose mandatory staffing levels in law. The pact cleared a Senate committee and was due to come up again Thursday in a House health committee.
 
The sides have been at odds for years over whether patients are at risk and whether lawmakers need to step in.
 
The revised bill requires hospitals, in consultation with nurses and other medical professionals, to develop core staffing plans that set daily benchmarks for each care unit. Hospitals must report quarterly on their direct care hours. The state health commissioner must conduct a study by 2015.