By Hiring One Extra Nurse, Hospitals Could Save Lives

Hospitals could decrease the number of patient deaths by simply adding one more registered nurse to their current staff that cares for patients, researchers announced in a recent press release. However, since there is a shortage of nurses, which is only expected to get worse, the chances of this happening are pretty slim.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health determined that although the costs to the hospital would be increased by the addition of an additional registered nurse, these costs would be more than offset by lower liability charges and improvement in their public image.

By examining the records of hospitals, researchers determined that there was, indeed, a link between the nurse-to-patient ratio within a hospital and the overall outcomes of patient care.

Researchers have acknowledged that nurses are critical for improving health care and to provide high-quality care for hospital patients. Simply increasing the number of nurses would improve patient safety, although it would pose an economic cost for the hospitals that added nurses.

Addressing the fact that many hospitals are trying to keep their budgets as low as possible, while maintaining patient safety, Robert Kane, M.D., said, "Robert Kane, M.D., said, "The issue is not making them aware of the possibility, it's convincing them that it is in their best interests to act on it. From a business perspective, the savings in reduced lengths of stay would not offset the costs of the added staffing. The case would have to be made in terms of image and liability."

Researchers believe that one additional full-time registered nurse could save the life of five patients for every 1,000 patients who were being treated in the intensive care area. By adding an additional RN, six surgery patients could be saved, and five patients on regular medical floors could be saved.

One of the largest problems that researchers identified is the fact that there is already a shortage of nurses. As the population in America continues to age, nurses that are currently employed will be retiring. Thus, the nursing shortage that is already affecting patient care is expected to become much worse, not better.

America will need 1.2 new and replacement nurses by 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, researchers said.

Researchers did not address how hospitals that are already understaffed and looking for nurses could find more nurses to fill new positions when many cannot fill positions that are already available.

This study has been published in the journal, Medical Care.

Source:
http://www.hbns.org/getDocument.cfm?documentID=1624