COLUMBUS – Senator Sue Morano (D-Lorain) has been named the chairperson of the Nurse Staffing Workgroup, which met for the first time on Monday. A subcommittee of the Hospital Measures Advisory Council (HMAC), the Nurse Staffing Workgroup will provide recommendations to the Ohio Department of Health and HMAC regarding nurse staffing measures.
"With the increasing focus on healthcare, it is crucial that the issue of hospital nurse staffing be discussed in relation to hospital measures and their outcomes. I look forward to working with the members of this committee," Senator Morano said.
During a period of six months, the Nurse Staffing Workgroup will discuss the nurse-to-patient ratio in Ohio’s hospitals and its effect on the quality of patient care. With its findings, the Workgroup will determine whether nurse-to-patient ratios should be a measure that is represented on the Ohio Department of Health’s Hospital Compare website (http://ohiohospitalcompare.ohio.gov).
The guiding principles of the Workgroup are as follows:
- Does the measure reflect upon an unequivocally important aspect of patient care?
- Does a poor nurse-to-patient rate reflect poor quality in the hospital?
- Can the nurse-to-patient rate be improved without actually improving quality?
- Can the hospital accurately collect the data from its records?
- Do hospitals have a sufficient number of qualifying cases to give an accurate public report?
The Hospital Measures Advisory Council was established in the 126th Ohio General Assembly to determine a set of hospital performance measures so that the public can have access to accurate and understandable information about hospital quality in Ohio.
Besides her duties in the General Assembly, Senator Morano is also a Registered Nurse who still works 3 nights a month in the Intensive Care Unit at Community Health Partners Hospital in Lorain.
