Qi Plan Part 1 Essay

The purpose of this article is to discuss appropriate nurse staffing and staffing ratios and its impact on patient care. Although the issue is just not about numbers as we discuss staffing we begin to see how complex the issue has become over the years. Many factors can affect appropriate nurse staffing ratios. As we investigate nurse staffing ratios we can see the importance of finding the right mix and number of nurses to provide quality care for patients.

Safety is an essential factor in the creation of the healing environment and this is dependent on the role of the caregiver and the patient when it is possible. “Safety is a basic component of professional nursing and Caritas Processes. Safety concerns affect all of the nurse’s activities related to supporting, protecting, and correcting the environment for healing at all levels, To feel safe and protected is a basic need” (Watson, 2008, p. 13). Many factors impede the safety of patients in a healing environment such as Risk of falls, Pressure ulcers, and close calls. Ford’s literature (as cited in Woolley et al, 2012) found that “hourly rounding resulted in a 52% reduction in call light use, giving nurses more time to provide patient care and prevent patient calls” and in Bourgault et al.’s study conducted in 2006 (as cited in Woolley et al, 2012) “expected outcomes of hourly rounding included increase

Providing the best care to each patient starts with providing the proper amount of staff members to each unit. Looking at the needs of different units not only allows administration to see areas for improvement, but also areas that are being handled correctly. Utilizing the indicators provided by The Joint Commission, 4 East, a pediatric medical/surgical floor, has a high rate of falls and nosocomial pressure ulcers that appears to be related to the increase overtime nurses have been working for that floor (Nightingale, 2010). Research has shown increases in adverse events have been related to nurses working over 40 hours a week (Bae, 2012).

Primarily, it is crucial for health care organizations to focus on ensuring safe and quality patient care, as well as improved job satisfaction by enforcing an optimal and adequate nurse-to-patient ratio and creating innovative and long-term strategies through a collaborative effort. In order to ensure the safety of patients and nurses, state-mandated safe-staffing ratios are necessary. Adequate nurse staffing is key to patient care and nurse retention, while inadequate staffing puts patients at risk and drives nurses from their profession. As baby boomers age and the demand for health care services grows, staffing problems will only intensify. Consequently, safe-staffing ratios have become such an ever-pressing concern. In 2004, California became the first state to implement minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, designed to improve patient care and nurse retention. Subsequent studies show that California’s program measurably improved patient care and nurse retention.

At Fort Madison Community Hospital they are focus at continuing improving quality service and managing care within the facility. To do this they have to measure accurately by different methods of quality improvement strategies. The managers also have to look at information technology applications and use benchmarking, milestones to help manage quality improvement to have a more effective facility.

Patient falls in hospitals continue to be a major and costly problem. The definition of a patient fall is an unplanned descent to the floor, assisted or unassisted, with or without injury to the patient. The authors of this article wanted to investigate the effect “missed nursing care” has on patient fall rates and patient outcomes. The authors also looked at hospital staffing as it relates to patient falls and nursing staff having enough time to carry out all nursing responsibilities.

Hourly rounding also known as intentional rounding or comfort rounding is an initiative that hospitals nationwide are beginning to implement. Hourly rounding should be purposeful. “Hourly rounding is a systematic proactive nurse-driven evidence based intervention to anticipate and address needs in hospitalized patients” (Deitrick, Baker, Paxton, Flores, & Swavely, 2012, p.13). “Purposeful nurse rounds encompass a practice where nurses attend to and document scheduled patient reviews at pre-determined and regular intervals (hourly or second hourly)” (Lyons, Biunero, & Lamont, 2015, p.31).

Hourly rounding is a strategy involving nurses and other health care staff to regularly “check in” on patients every hour. Because nursing staff is not reacting to call lights, patients are more content and happy; therefore nurses feel they are doing a better job helping their patients (Studer, 2007). Research has shown that rounding every hour lowers patient’s use of call lights and resultantly decreases the workload of the nurse (Leighty, 2007; Meade, Bursell, & Ketelsen, 2006; & Tipton, 2008). Performing hourly rounds has contributed to 20% less walking per shift

Patients want and expect to receive high quality care. Nurses want to provide the best care possible to their patients and like everybody else; want a pleasing job environment. Hospitals, on the other hand, are expected to provide a safe environment to patients, have enough nursing staff and remain profitable (Keller, Dulle, Kwiecinski, Altimier & Owens, 2013). The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and patient safety across the United States; therefore, all the different interests of these major stakeholders should be taken into

In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a significant decline in the quality of patient care it provides. This has been the result of reduced staffing levels, overworked nurses, and an extremely high nurse to patient ratio. The importance of nurse staffing in hospital settings is an issue of great controversy. Too much staff results in costs that are too great for the facility to bear, but too little staffing results in patient care that is greatly hindered. Moreover, the shaky economy has led to widespread budget cuts; this, combined with the financial pressures associated with Medicare and private insurance companies have forced facilities to make due with fewer

Despite many efforts to improve staffing numbers, there is often still a staff shortage among staff in hospitals and acute care settings. While the most obvious solution to short staffing is to hire more nurses, there are also other ways to make staffing more effective. A patient acuity tool is a staffing instrument that can be used to decide how much time and attention each individual patient requires. By knowing the acuity level of each patient, charge nurses can decide how many patients each nurse can be assigned to at a time. This essay describes the way a patient acuity instrument improves healthcare outcomes by promoting patient-centered care and improving on key nurse competencies including teamwork and collaboration, quality improvement, and safety measures.

A.Nightingale Community Hospital is attempting to be in complete compliance with Joint Commission’s “communications” standards. Prior to the Joint Commission survey, Nightingale Community Hospital wanted to focus on items UP.01.01.01 through UP.01.03.01 of the Joint Commission handbook. According to the handbook, these items focus on the universal protocols for preventing wrong site, wrong procedure, wrong person surgery (2015). In response to these universal protocols, the hospital implemented a pre-procedure hand-off tool, which is completed and signed off by both the nurse handing off the patient as well as the nurse accepting the patient. The hospital also began

The results of the study showed that significant increase in patient satisfaction scores, decreased call light usage, and reduction in patients fall rates. One-hour rounding shows higher satisfaction than two hour- rounding. Hypothesis supported the study because the research shows rounding can reduce patient call light usage (Meade, Bursell, Ketelsen , 2006). The theoretical framework that forms the basis of the research is that consistent nursing rounds can meet the basic needs of patient and ultimately reduce call light use and [pic]improve management of patient care while also[pic] increasing [pic]patient satisfaction and[pic] safety.

Hourly rounding contributes in several key areas to achievement of high levels of patient satisfaction, including quality of care and patient safety. This puts patients at the center of care by building on the fundamental aspects of care, which are so important. Thus by checking in on patients in wards regularly to see whether they are comfortable and have everything they need can produce a number of positive results. Nurses

Answering the call light (also called call bell a handheld like that is attached to the patient room wall, above the headboard of the bed) in a timely manner by the nursing staff in hospital setting is necessary to prevent falls that can harm, prolonged stays, and unnecessarily increase the cost of healthcare. However, researches concerning call light uses as it relates to patient safety, patient-care management and patient satisfaction are limited (Meade et al. 2006). Patients and their families emphasize that nurses should monitor patients constantly and provide assistance and answer a call light in a timely manner (Yoder, 2011). Note that the falls may be caused by several factors such as