2E2SHB 1291 -
By Committee on Health & Long-Term Care
ADOPTED 02/24/2006
On page 6, after line 10, insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 10 The secretary of health shall convene a
task force to prepare a report for the legislature with proposed
guidelines and recommendations for staffing plans that ensure qualified
and competent nursing staff are available to provide quality patient
care and address how staffing issues can be incorporated in the quality
improvement process.
(1) In preparing its report and recommendations, the task force
shall:
(a) Address what research-based factors should be included in unit
specific staffing plans in addition to: Patient acuity, census,
department geography, and sufficient nursing staff and staff skill mix;
(b) Evaluate how facility size, location, patient acuity, and work
force availability may influence staffing plans in a unit or facility;
(c) Evaluate how staffing plans relate to improved quality of care
as identified by authoritative sources and research, and the
relationship between staffing and quality improvement initiatives;
(d) Address the level of input from direct care providers
throughout the development and ongoing evaluation of the staffing plan;
(e) Analyze and suggest a method and frequency by which the
department shall be notified of each facility's staffing plan;
(f) Recommend an approach for how the public can access information
about a facility staffing plan, and how the facility will notify direct
care providers of the staffing plan;
(g) Address how the department will monitor the appropriateness of
the facility's staffing plans, recommend a mechanism for staff or other
concerned parties to notify the department, and evaluate the
department's response to the concerns about a facility's terms or
implementation of its staffing plan where patient care appears to have
been compromised; and
(h) Address how staffing issues could best be incorporated into the
peer review or quality improvement process, with consideration of:
(i) The methods for addressing staffing issues on a quality
improvement form; and
(ii) Staffing information in root cause analysis of adverse events
and incidents.
(2) The task force shall consist of sixteen members, who, aside
from the consumer, shall have health care experience or substantive
knowledge of the health care field, appointed by the secretary of
health;
(a) Seven representatives from nursing unions, to include at least
five registered nurses, four of whom are involved in direct patient
care;
(b) Two representatives from the two organizations representing
hospitals;
(c) Two registered nurses in managerial or executive roles, who are
representatives of an organization representing nurse executives;
(d) One consumer representative;
(e) The secretary of health or the secretary's designee;
(f) One chief executive officer or chief operating officer of a
hospital;
(g) 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
(h) One representative of organizations representing long-term care
facilities.
(3) The task force shall issue its report to the legislature by
December 31, 2006. If the task force is not able to complete its work
by December 31, 2006, an interim report to the legislature is due on
that date, with the full report due no later than September 1, 2007.
(4) Any administrative costs of the department of health shall be
funded from nursing license fee revenues from existing fees deposited
into the health professions account."
Renumber the remaining section consecutively.
2E2SHB 1291 -
By Committee on Health & Long-Term Care
ADOPTED 02/24/2006
On page 1, line 4 of the title, after "creating" strike "a new section" and insert "new sections"