National Nurses United

This isn't about a 'nursing shortage,' this is about the hospital investing in the recruit- ment and retention of experienced RNs for the benefit of our patients." Data supplied from the hospitals also indicate that they are regularly out of compliance with their own staffing grids. For example, at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kansas, hospital data documenting shifts throughout the month of December 2017 reveal that various units were out of compliance with the staffing grid including, the neuro orthopedic gener- al surgery unit 32 percent of the time; the rehab unit, 53 percent; the surgical special- ty unit, 23 percent; and the medical-surgi- cal unit 65 percent of the time. "As a 'Super Float Pool' nurse at Meno- rah Medical Center, I've worked in multi- ple medical-surgical and telemetry units, as well as critical care units, like ICU and ER. I know that when the hospital invests in retention and recruitment and compli- ance with their staffing grid, our patients are more likely to get optimal care with- out delay," said Summer Baker, RN. Nurses working at the HCA-affiliated hospitals point out that the giant hospital chain received massive tax breaks under the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act and can well afford to reinvest those dollars into recruiting and retaining appropriate staff for its facilities. "We're urging our hospi- tal to invest in the nursing staff because it is vital for quality care," said Gary Mousseau, an RN working in endoscopy at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla. "They have the resources to comply with their staffing grid, reduce the turnover rates, and provide optimal care, especially as recipients of huge tax cuts under the Tax Cut and Jobs Act." The 15 hospitals that have authorized strikes include: Research Medical Center in Missouri; Menorah Medical Center in Kansas; MountainView Hospital in Nevada; Corpus Christi Medical Center, Del Sol Medical Center, and Las Palmas Medical Center in Texas; and Blake Medical Center, Central Florida Regional Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Northside Hospital, Oak Hill Hospital, Osceola Regional Medical Center, St. Petersburg General Hospital, and Trinity Medical Center in Florida. —Staff report MINNESOTA T he short staffing crisis in Minne so- ta hospitals is an "epidemic with no end," according to a study conducted by the Minnesota Nurses Association. The "MNA Concern for Safe Staffing Annual Report for 2017," released in July, found short staffing continues to rise, creat- ing unsafe conditions for patients and nurses. Nurses fill out Concern for Safe Staffing forms to docu- ment shifts where patients are harmed, or in the nurse's professional opinion, patients did not receive the safe, quali- ty care they require due to short staffing. The report analyzed more than 3,000 Concern for Safe Staffing (CFSS) forms that MNA nurses filed in 2017. Since 2015, MNA analyzes those reports for trends, frequen- cies, and consequences of short staffing. Nurses documented 3,054 incidents of short staffing in 2017, compared to 2,741 in 2015 and 3,000 in 2016. That is an 11 percent increase in shifts that were short staffed and as a result, unsafe. Nurses reported that, as a result of short staffing, hospital patients didn't receive medications, assessments, and discharge instructions, such as: • "Delays in care or treatment or incomplete assessments" occurred 2,105 times in 2017. • An "inability to answer patient call lights" was reported 1,510 times. • Unqualified staff were used to resolve the short staffing problem 354 times in 2017. • There were 349 instances when a shift was left short staffed by 25 percent or more. • Patients did not receive their scheduled medication at the time it was ordered to be given 823 times in 2017. • Hospital administration chose to resolve the short staffing issue by substituting a worker who was not skilled to the level that was necessary 676 times. • Nurses refusing unsafe assignments rose to 280 incidents in 2017. According to the report, "Nurses realize more and more that in order to protect the patients in their care, they must refuse to accept assignments that are unsafe." Nurses also reported that hospital managers continued to be unresponsive to their pleas for more help. The report cites 2,372 incidents of short staffing situations in 2017 when man - agement was made aware yet offered no response or help. "Nurses' demands consis- tently fall on deaf ears," MNA Policy Project Specialist Carrie Mortrud, RN and coauthor of the report, said in a news release. "Over the past four years, manage- ment and administration's pure disregard for help when a shift is short staffed has been the most frequently reported problem. Those responsible for staffing decisions have shown they are not reasonable, responsible, nor concerned by bedside nurses' reports." "Short staffing is a common practice across Minnesota hospitals, and the effects explained in this report show this is an epidemic with no foreseeable end," said Jackie Russell, registered nurse and attor- ney, another coauthor of the report. "When hospitals seek to increase their bottom line, patients suffer the conse- quences," said Mortrud. "Inadequate nurse staffing results in increased patient risk of harm; longer hospital stays; medication errors; injuries; increased durations and types of infections; and even death." The report recommends that Minnesota set a minimum number of nurses who will be scheduled to work every day and every shift to ensure patients are cared for safely and properly. The full report is online at www.mnnurs- es.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2017- CFSS-Report-Final.pdf —Barbara Brady J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 New report shows short staffing plagues state's hospitals

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