Acuity Based Staffing

For decades nurses have been fighting for safe nurse to patient ratios. Thousands of studies have been done proving that an increased patient load leads to burnout, job dissatisfaction, occupational injuries, adverse events, and patient mortality. In an effort to keep nurses at the bedside, California passed The Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. This act was the first of its kind as it established legislatively mandated nursing ratios and required staff to take several breaks throughout the day. However, mandated ratios come with a cost that most institutions cannot afford and therefore is not appropriate as a stand-alone intervention. In many hospitals nursing assignments are made by assigning rooms in “blocks” with little to no consideration of acuity. While this is a very simple assignment making method, it allows for an unfair acuity mix, which can result in increased workload and job dissatisfaction. Implementing the proposed patient acuity tool has the potential to increase nurse satisfaction, patient safety, and decrease adverse events