TY - JOUR
T1 - Hospital Nurse Staffing Legislation
T2 - Mixed Approaches In Some States, While Others Have No Requirements
AU - Krishnamurthy, Nithya
AU - Mukherjee, Neha
AU - Cohen, Bevin
AU - Mazor, Melissa
AU - Appel, Jacob M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Project HOPE. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - Legislative agendas aimed at regulating nurse staffing in US hospitals have intensified after acute workforce disruptions triggered by COVID-19. Emerging evidence consistently demonstrates the benefits of higher nurse staffing levels, although uncertainty remains regarding whether and which legislative approaches can achieve this outcome. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive updated review of hospital nurse staffing requirements across all fifty states. As of January 2024, seven states had laws pertaining to staffing ratios for at least one hospital unit, including California and Oregon, which had ratios pertaining to multiple units. Eight states required nurse staffing committees, of which six specified a percentage of committee members who must be registered nurses. Eleven states required nurse staffing plans. Five states had pending legislation, and one state, Idaho, had passed legislation banning minimum nurse staffing requirements. The variety of state regulations provides an opportunity for comparative evaluations of efficacy and feasibility to inform new legislation on the horizon.
AB - Legislative agendas aimed at regulating nurse staffing in US hospitals have intensified after acute workforce disruptions triggered by COVID-19. Emerging evidence consistently demonstrates the benefits of higher nurse staffing levels, although uncertainty remains regarding whether and which legislative approaches can achieve this outcome. The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive updated review of hospital nurse staffing requirements across all fifty states. As of January 2024, seven states had laws pertaining to staffing ratios for at least one hospital unit, including California and Oregon, which had ratios pertaining to multiple units. Eight states required nurse staffing committees, of which six specified a percentage of committee members who must be registered nurses. Eleven states required nurse staffing plans. Five states had pending legislation, and one state, Idaho, had passed legislation banning minimum nurse staffing requirements. The variety of state regulations provides an opportunity for comparative evaluations of efficacy and feasibility to inform new legislation on the horizon.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85203076133
U2 - 10.1377/HLTHAFF.2023.01521
DO - 10.1377/HLTHAFF.2023.01521
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85203076133
SN - 0278-2715
VL - 43
SP - 1172
EP - 1179
JO - Health Affairs
JF - Health Affairs
IS - 8
ER -