title: Patient turnover and the relationship between nurse staffing and patient outcomes.
abstract: High patient turnover (patient throughput generated by admissions, discharges, and transfers) contributes to increased demands and resources for care. We examined how the relationship between registered nurse (RN) staffing and failure-to-rescue (FTR) varied with patient turnover levels by analyzing quarterly data from the University HealthSystem Consortium. The data included 42 hospitals, representing 759 nursing units and about 1 million inpatients. Higher RN staffing was associated with lower FTR. When patient turnover increased from 48.6% to 60.7% on nonintensive units (non-ICUs), the beneficial effect of non-ICU RN staffing on FTR was reduced by 11.5%. RN staffing should be adjusted according to patient turnover because turnover increases patient care demand beyond that presented by patient count, and outcomes may be adversely affected.
authors.affiliation: National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, School of Nursing, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., MS 3060, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Shin Hye
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Blegen
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spetz
authors.forename: Susan A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Groot
mesh_terms: D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010361:Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000078329:Workforce