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REFERENCE TITLE: hospital nurse staffing requirements |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-second Legislature First Regular Session 2015
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SB 1412 |
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Introduced by Senator McGuire
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AN ACT
Amending title 36, chapter 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding article 3.1; relating to hospital nurse staffing requirements.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 36, chapter 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 3.1, to read:
ARTICLE 3.1. HOSPITAL NURSE STAFFING REQUIREMENTS
36-438. Hospital nurse staffing committees; membership; duties
A. Each hospital that is licensed in this state shall establish a hospital nurse staffing committee. The committee shall consist of at least fifty-five percent of registered nurses who provide direct care in the hospital but who are not either a hospital nurse manager or on the hospital administration staff. The committee membership shall include:
1. Hospital nurse managers.
2. At least one registered nurse who provides direct care from each nurse specialty or unit of the hospital, as determined by the hospital.
3. Other personnel of the hospital that the hospital determines to be appropriate.
B. The committee shall:
1. Develop a hospital‑wide staffing plan for nursing services furnished in the hospital consistent with this section.
2. Conduct regular, ongoing monitoring of the implementation of the hospital-wide staffing plan for nursing services furnished in the hospital.
3. Conduct evaluations at least annually of the staffing plan and make any appropriate modifications.
4. Develop policies and procedures for overtime requirements of registered nurses who provide direct patient care and for staffing during routine absences.
36-438.01. Hospital‑wide staffing plan for nursing services; posting; implementation
A. The hospital‑wide staffing plan for nursing services that is developed pursuant to section 36-438 shall:
1. Require that an appropriate number of registered nurses provide direct patient care in each unit and on each shift of the hospital to ensure staffing levels that address the unique characteristics of patients and hospital units and result in the delivery of safe, quality patient care.
2. Establish upwardly adjustable minimum ratios of direct care registered nurses to patients for each unit and for each shift of the hospital, based on an assessment by registered nurses of the level and variability of intensity of care required by patients under existing conditions.
3. Be based on:
(a) Input from registered nurse staff of the hospital who provide direct patient care and the chief nurse executive.
(b) The number of patients and the level and variability of intensity of care to be provided to those patients considering admissions, discharges and transfers during each shift.
4. Take into account:
(a) Contextual issues affecting nurse staffing and the delivery of care, including available technology.
(b) The level of education, training and experience of the registered nurses providing direct care.
(c) The staffing levels and services provided by other health care personnel associated with nursing care, including certified nurse assistants, nursing assistants, aides and orderlies.
(d) Staffing levels recommended by specialty nursing organizations.
(e) Unit and facility level staffing, quality and patient outcome data and national outcomes, if available.
5. Ensure that a registered nurse is not assigned to work in a particular unit of the hospital without first having established the ability to provide professional care in that unit.
6. Provide for exemptions from some or all requirements of the hospital‑wide staffing plan during a period of time when the hospital is requested or expected to provide an exceptional level of emergency or other medical services.
B. Each hospital shall post daily for each shift, in a clearly visible location, a document that specifies in a uniform manner, as determined by the department of health services, the current number of licensed and unlicensed nursing staff directly responsible for patient care in each unit of the hospital, identifying specifically the number of registered nurses.
C. On or before July 1, 2016, each hospital licensed in this state shall implement the hospital-wide staffing plan for nursing services furnished in the hospital that is developed by the hospital nurse staffing committee pursuant to this article.