Three major studies were just released chronicling how hospital staffing has an impact on the quality of patient care. The results were not entirely surprising—at least not to the millions of frontline healthcare workers caring for patients under these conditions.

One study demonstrates that a higher nurse-to-patient staffing ratios led to shorter hospital stays and lower rates of urinary tract infections, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, and cardiac arrest.

Another portion of the study looked at surgical patient outcomes in 168 different Pennsylvania hospitals. The hospitals ranged in nurse-to-patient ratios from 5:1 to 7:1.  According to the study, by adding one patient to each nurse load, the probability of nurse burnout increased by 23% and patient mortality by 7%. Yikes!

Reasonable nurse-to-patient ratios definitely have a profound effect on nursing satisfaction. It’s time that our Presidential candidates began addressing the problem of unsafe staffing in our nation’s hospitals, and how this practice can have serious consequences for patients and the workforce.

For complete article: http://gastroenterology.jwatch.org/cgi/content/full/2002/1228/12

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