Health Policy Brief (one-page leave behind) Assignment. Please follow the instructions, sample and rubric.

S.1357 - Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019, Senator Tim Kaine

Nurse Staffing Standards: Better Outcomes For our Nation

Introduction Adequate nurse staffing benefits patients, staff, and the facility that results with less medical and medication errors, patient mortality, hospital readmissions, LOS, preventable accidents and injuries, and other complications related to inadequate staffing levels (American Nurses Association, 2019).

Background • Nurse staffing shortages have resulted from several increasing factors

such as company decisions to cost-cut and an increase in our country’s aging population, increased care complexity causing unsafe conditions for nursing staff, and patients with a higher risk in medical errors with low nursing staff on the unit (American Nurses Association, 2019).

• Current federal regulation for nursing staff ratios requires Medicare- certified hospitals to "have adequate numbers of licensed registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other personnel to provide nursing care to all patients as needed,” and is vague (42CFR 482.23).

Evidence

• Evidence demonstrates that nursing care has a direct impact on the overall quality of services received, and that when nurse staffing is appropriate, adverse events decline and overall outcomes improve (Avalere Health, 2018)

• Appropriate nurse staffing is a critical requisite for the delivery of safe, quality health care at every practice level and in every setting.

• Higher RN staffing levels are often associated with a reduction in hospital length of stay and a reduction in hospital costs (Avalere Health, 2018).

• Quality measurements shared among the top performing hospitals in our country that practice minimum nurse staffing standards include the following: fewer complications, lower mortality, lower readmission rates, shorter length of stay (LOS), higher score on patient ratings, and higher average operating margins than their peers (Avalere Health, 2018)

Recommendations • The nurse-patient ratio is a direct determinate of the effects of

wellbeing, health, and nurse productivity in the workplace that determines the patients’ overall health (Gutsan, Patton, Willis, & Coustasse, 2018).

• Nurses in Virginia support the nurse staffing standards proposed in this bill and ask you to do the same in passing this bill without further delay.

Passing S.1357 will provide a spirit of hope and greater level of commitment in nurses and those entering the workforce, increasing nurse retention and decreasing work-related injuries and burnout.

References

American Nurses Association. (2019, Oct 15). Nurse Staffing Crisis. Retrieved from American Nurses Association: https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nurse-staffing/nurse-staffing-crisis/

Avalere Health. (2018). The Business Case for Higher Levels of Nurse Staffing in the Hospital Setting. Silver Spring: American Nurses Association.

Gutsan, E., Patton, J., Willis, W. K., & Coustasse, A. (2018). Burnout syndrome and nurse-to-patient ratio in the workplace. South Charleston: Marshall University.

S.1357. (2019). Nurse Staffing Standards for Hospital Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2019, S.1357, 116th Congress.

Virginia Nurses Association. (2010). Facts about the shortage of nurses in Virginia.