Nurses have long said that if you want to see the right staffing, ask a nurse. Now you can ask the nurses at Valley Medical Center in Renton, who are calling the staffing shots on one unit for a year.
Nurses at Valley will participate in a one year research project where nurses have direct control over all staffing and scheduling decisions in one unit, and the results will be evaluated to look at patient outcomes and satisfaction, staff satisfaction, and other cost savings.
“Our professional judgment is the best way to decide how to care for patients. This kind of partnership and commitment to our patients is groundbreaking,” said Sue Harmon, RN, Valley Medical Center.
New research from Dr. Jack Needleman shows stronger evidence of an increased risk of mortality when nursing unit staffing falls below staffing targets. At Swedish Medical Center, SEIU members aren’t just talking about this data, we’re using it to track shifts on three units with management when they fall below the agreed upon staffing levels and the associated outcomes. They’ll be able to intervene when staffing levels create concern for patient outcomes.
“While many units have good staffing plans, we often cannot meet them on a shift-by-shift basis because of unexpected absences, changing patient needs, or changing patient numbers. This project will allow a Staffing Committee to closely monitor and evaluate staffing based on what our patients need,” said Cheryl Wallace, RN, Swedish Medical Center.
In hospitals across the state, we’re fighting for and making improvements to staffing and patient care:
- Nurses at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital won $1 million to be invested in staffing improvements at the hospital, including additional nurses for the float pool.
- 700 Harborview members signed a letter to the CEO opposing a reduction to STAT nurses.
- Nurses at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles launched a community campaign to improve staffing by raising awareness with radio spots and community postcards.
Our work to improve staffing also goes beyond our local hospitals, and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW nurses joined the national Nurse Alliance Conference in Washington DC to lobby our congressional leaders and attend trainings on nursing issues.
Examples like this are exactly why we founded the SEIU Nurse Alliance as part of our union’s plan for A Strong Future. We’re the experts in how to deliver patient care and together we can help shape local and national policy conversations that advance healthcare reform and raise nursing standards.
