Florida Senate - 2011 SB 1118
By Senator Bogdanoff
25-00525-11 20111118__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to nursing services; creating s.
3 395.0192, 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 retention of registered nurses, and promote evidence
29 based nurse staffing, the Legislature intends to establish a
30 mechanism whereby nurses and hospital leadership participate in
31 a joint process regarding decisions to implement a nurse
32 staffing plan, NOW, THEREFORE,
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. Section 395.0192, Florida Statutes, is created
37 to read:
38 395.0192 Nurse staffing collaborative council.—
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 the outcomes most affected by nursing care.
50 (e) “Patient care unit” means any unit or area of the
51 hospital in which patient care is provided by registered nurses.
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, 2011, each hospital licensed under this
57 chapter shall establish a nurse staffing collaborative council,
58 by creating a new council or assigning the functions of a nurse
59 staffing collaborative council to an existing council or
60 committee. A majority of the members of the nurse staffing
61 collaborative council shall be registered nurses who currently
62 participate in direct patient care. The chief nursing executive
63 shall determine the remaining members of the council.
64 (3) Primary responsibilities of the nurse staffing
65 collaborative council include the development and oversight of
66 an annual staffing plan for each patient care unit and shift,
67 based on the needs of patients, which shall be used as the
68 primary factor in developing the nurse staffing budget. Factors
69 to be considered in the development of the plan include, but are
70 not limited to:
71 (a) Census information, including the total number of
72 patients in each patient care unit on each shift, and activity
73 in each patient care unit, such as patient discharges,
74 admissions, and transfers.
75 (b) The acuity level of all patients and the nature of the
76 care to be delivered on each shift.
77 (c) The skill mix.
78 (d) The level of education, training, and experience of the
79 nursing personnel providing care.
80 (e) The need for specialized equipment.
81 (f) The physical layout and design of each patient care
82 unit, including, but not limited to, placement of patient rooms,
83 treatment areas, nursing stations, medication-preparation areas,
84 and equipment.
85 (g) Staffing guidelines adopted or published by national
86 professional nursing associations, specialty nursing
87 organizations, and other professional health care organizations.
88 (h) Hospital finances and resources.
89 (i) Level of technology and support.
90 (4) The chief nurse executive shall communicate and
91 collaborate with the council to ensure a safe and appropriate
92 implementation of the 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 unit, and the plan shall
99 be shared with the public upon request.
100 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.