Ratios ended turnover of RNs on our unit
and decreased the hospital RN vacancy rate
from 17% to 5%
"In the years before the ratios were enacted we had complete turnover of our entire
RN staff twice in three years. There were never enough RNs scheduled, and we were
continually fighting for two to three more nurses to be called in at the last minute.
It is extremely difficult to get nurses on short notice so we were always working short
staffed and our patients suffered. Nurses got frustrated and left. When they come to
work now they know that they will start the shift with enough nurses scheduled to
provide better care to our patients. Now the only time nurses leave our unit is if they
are moving out of the area or going back to school full time."
— Trande Phillips, RN
Kaiser Permanente, Walnut Creek, California
