nurse staffing

Background: Growing scrutiny of readmissions has placed hospitals at the center of readmission prevention. Little is known, however, about hospital nursing - a critical organizational component of hospital service system - in relation to readmissions.

Objectives: To determine the relationships between hospital nursing factors - nurse work environment, nurse staffing, and nurse education - and 30-day readmissions among Medicare patients undergoing general, orthopedic, and vascular surgery.

Use of agency-employed supplemental nurses on nursing personnel costs was examined in 19 adult patient care units in a large academic medical center. Results indicated that the modest use of supplemental nurses was cost-efficient with regard to overall nursing personnel costs, but heavy reliance on supplemental nurses to meet staffing needs was not cost-efficient. In addition, there was no statistical difference in hourly personnel cost between the use of supplemental nurses and overtime worked by permanent nurses.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between hospital nursing; that is, nurse work environment, nurse staffing levels, and nurse education, and 30-day readmissions among Medicare patients with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia. It was concluded that improving nurses' work environemnts and staffing may be effective interventions for preventing readmissions.