|
|
||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
New Law Gives Nurses a Voice in Hospital Staffing Plans
COLUMBUS – Nurses and nurse leaders are rolling up their scrubs to start implementing common sense nurse staffing plans in hospitals across Ohio under legislation signed into law by Gov. Ted Strickland last week.
House Bill 346, sponsored by Rep. Jim Hughes (R-Columbus), requires hospitals to establish nurse staffing plans with input from direct care nurses, giving them a real voice in key staffing decisions that directly impact patient care.
Through an initiative called Nursing 2015, nurses are developing a toolkit to help hospital nurses create or bolster existing nursing care committees. The committees will draft staffing plans that ensure adequate staffing and reflect the needs of the patients who walk through Ohio hospital doors 34 million times each year.
The nursing care committee, at least half of which is comprised of registered nurses who directly care for patients, will develop recommendations for a nurse staffing plan consistent with current governmental or private accreditation standards. Hospitals must consider the recommendations when establishing staffing plans, and provide the nursing staff with a copy of the staffing plan, free of charge, and offer it to others who request it for a nominal fee.
Nursing 2015 is a collaboration of the Ohio Hospital Association, Ohio Nurses Association and Ohio Organization for Nurse Executives to improve working conditions, leadership capacity for nurses, ergonomic and worksite standards and education for future nurses to optimize the field of nursing by the year 2015.
About Ohio Hospital Association The Ohio Hospital Association was established in 1915 and currently represents 178 hospitals and 40 health systems throughout Ohio. OHA is a membership-driven organization that provides proactive leadership to create an environment in which Ohio hospitals are successful in serving their communities. Visit OHA’s Web site at www.ohanet.org For information on top health care issues, visit the online OHA News Media Center at www.ohanet.org/media/.
About Ohio Nurses Association The Ohio Nurses Association is a multi-purpose professional association for Registered Nurses in the state of Ohio that offers RNs a variety of services including continuing education opportunities, nursing practice information and standards of care, legislative advocacy and collective bargaining. Visit ONA’s Web site at www.ohnurses.org.
About Ohio Organization for Nurse Executives The Ohio Organization for Nurse Executives is an affiliated society of the Ohio Hospital Association, and is also affiliated with the American Organization of Nurse Executives. OONE works to improve health care through education, technology, research, consultation, networking and information sharing. Visit OONE’s Web site at www.ohanet.org/societies/oone/.
### |
