Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 1604
By the Committee on Health Regulation; and Senator Aronberg
588-04436-09 20091604c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nursing services; creating s.
3 395.01922, F.S.; providing definitions; requiring that
4 hospitals establish nurse staffing collaborative
5 councils; providing for membership and
6 responsibilities; requiring the council to produce
7 annual hospital nurse staffing plans; requiring the
8 chief nurse executive to communicate with the council
9 to ensure appropriate implementation of the nurse
10 staffing plan; requiring that the council conduct a
11 semiannual review of the nurse staffing plan;
12 requiring the nurse staffing plan to be reviewed with
13 the nurse personnel and made available to the public
14 upon request; providing an effective date.
15
16 WHEREAS, research demonstrates that registered nurses play
17 a critical role in patient safety and quality of care, and
18 hospitals are employing multiple strategies to recruit and
19 retain nurses, and
20 WHEREAS, the implementation of evidence-based nurse
21 staffing plans to foster safe, high-quality patient care and
22 increase job satisfaction for nurses is crucial, and
23 WHEREAS, hospitals and nursing organizations share a mutual
24 interest in patient-safety initiatives that create a healthy
25 environment for nurses and provide for the safe care of
26 patients, and
27 WHEREAS, in order to ensure safe, quality patient care,
28 support the retention of registered nurses, and promote
29 evidence-based nurse staffing, the Legislature intends to
30 establish a mechanism whereby nurses and hospital leadership
31 participate in a joint process regarding nurse-staffing-plan
32 decisions, NOW, THEREFORE,
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. Section 395.01922, Florida Statutes, is created
37 to read:
38 395.01922 Nurse staffing collaborative councils.—
39 (1) As used in this section, the term:
40 (a) “Acuity” means the level of patient need for nursing
41 care, as determined by the nursing assessment.
42 (b) “Nurse staffing collaborative council” means the
43 collaborative council established by a hospital under this
44 section.
45 (c) “Nursing personnel” means registered nurses, licensed
46 practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and unlicensed
47 assistive personnel providing direct patient care.
48 (d) “Nursing-sensitive quality indicators” means indicators
49 that capture care or the outcomes most affected by nursing care.
50 (e) “Patient care unit” means any unit or area of the
51 hospital where registered nurses provide care to patients.
52 (f) “Skill mix” means the number and relative percentages
53 of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified
54 nursing assistants, and unlicensed assistive personnel among the
55 total number of nursing personnel.
56 (2) By September 1, 2009, each hospital licensed under this
57 chapter shall establish a nurse staffing collaborative council
58 by creating a new collaborative council or assigning the
59 functions of a nurse staffing collaborative council to an
60 existing council or committee. Membership of the nurse staffing
61 collaborative council shall be determined by the chief nursing
62 executive and shall include representation of nurses currently
63 participating in direct patient care.
64 (3) Primary responsibilities of the nurse staffing
65 collaborative council shall include the development and
66 oversight of an annual patient care unit and shift-based nurse
67 staffing plan, based on the needs of patients, which shall be
68 used as the primary factor in developing the nurse staffing
69 budget. Factors to be considered in the development of the plan
70 include, but are not limited to:
71 (a) Census information, including total numbers of patients
72 in the unit on each shift, and activity in the unit, such as
73 patient discharges, admissions, and transfers.
74 (b) The acuity level of all patients and the nature of the
75 care to be delivered on each shift.
76 (c) The skill mix.
77 (d) The level of education, training, and experience of the
78 nursing personnel providing care.
79 (e) The need for specialized equipment.
80 (f) The physical layout and design of the patient care
81 unit, including, but not limited to, placement of patient rooms,
82 treatment areas, nursing stations, medication preparation areas,
83 and equipment.
84 (g) Staffing guidelines adopted or published by national
85 professional nursing associations, specialty nursing
86 organizations, and other health care professional organizations.
87 (h) Hospital finances and resources.
88 (i) Level of technology and support.
89 (4) The nurse staffing collaborative council shall produce
90 an annual nurse staffing plan for the hospital. The chief nurse
91 executive shall communicate and collaborate with the council to
92 ensure a safe and appropriate implementation of a staffing plan.
93 (5) The nurse staffing collaborative council shall conduct
94 a semiannual review of the staffing plan with regard to patient
95 needs and evidence-based staffing information, including the
96 nursing-sensitive quality indicators collected by the hospital.
97 (6) The staffing plan shall be reviewed annually with
98 nursing personnel in each patient care area, and the plan shall
99 be shared with the community upon request.
100 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.