BILL REQ. #:  H-4809.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/06/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to a task force on nurses' work environment and patient safety; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Health care research has demonstrated positive correlations between nurse staffing and quality nursing care including better patient outcomes, improvements in safety of staff, job satisfaction, retention, and reduction of workplace injuries. Among the factors to be considered in analyzing the nurses' work environment include the current and future nursing and health work force shortages; health care facility efforts related to health personnel work environment; the relationship between patient safety, patient outcomes, staff safety, job satisfaction, nurse staffing, and retention initiatives; and variability of health care facility location and size. Therefore, the legislature finds that a task force to examine the nurses' work environment is necessary to ensure quality patient care in Washington state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The secretary of health shall convene a task force on nurses' work environment to prepare a report to the legislature and propose measures aimed at improving patient safety by addressing the features of nurses' current work environments related to patient safety, patient outcomes, nurse job satisfaction, and nurse retention.
     (1) In preparing its report, the task force shall:
     (a) Consider available information, including authoritative sources and research related to nurses' work environments including, but not limited to, the Institute of Medicine's 2003 report, Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses, the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Health Care Organization's standards, and state and federal legal requirements;
     (b) Address priorities for implementing recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's report in Washington, as well as other means of improving patient safety;
     (c) Analyze and propose strategies to improve those features of nurses' current work environments related to patient safety, patient outcomes, nurse job satisfaction, and nurse retention;
     (d) Consider examples of staffing systems designed to improve patient safety, quality of care, and retention of nursing staff;
     (e) Consider the variability of health care facility size and setting in Washington state that may affect staffing patterns and other activities related to staffing;
     (f) Consider the effect of the current and future nursing and health care work force shortages on staffing; and
     (g) Consider initiatives of Washington state health care facilities on staffing and how they relate to and interact with other efforts that address patient safety, staff safety, and nursing and other health personnel job satisfaction and retention.
     (2) The task force shall consist of fifteen members appointed by the secretary of health. Members shall include:
     (a) Six representatives from organizations representing nurses involved in direct patient care, to include at least four registered nurses. One member shall be a health care professional working in a long-term care setting;
     (b) One representative of an organization representing hospitals;
     (c) Two registered nurses in managerial or executive roles, who are representatives of an organization representing nurse executives;
     (d) One faculty member of an academic institution preparing registered nurses;
     (e) One consumer representative;
     (f) The secretary of health or the secretary's designee;
     (g) One chief executive officer or chief operating officer of a hospital;
     (h) One human resources director or executive of a health care facility who is a representative of an organization representing health care human resources executives; and
     (i) One representative of organizations representing long-term care facilities.
     (3) The task force shall issue its report to the legislature by January 1, 2005.
     (4) Any administrative costs of the department of health shall be borne from nursing license fee revenues from existing fees deposited into the health professions account.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act expires January 1, 2005.