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View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
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View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
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Learn MoreThis blog is taken from a recent HealthStream webinar entitled “From Regulations to Realities: Nurse Staffing, Unions, and the ShiftWizard Advantage.” The webinar was moderated by Sarah Enders, HealthStream’s Senior Product Marketing Manager and featured Gia Milo-Slagle, HealthStream’s Senior Product Director, Scheduling and Terri Epler, RN, MSN, Solutions Consultant Manager.
Navigating the complexities of staffing mandates while ensuring compliance with union standards is challenging, but in this webinar, HealthStream leaders provide real strategies that can help organizations do just that.
Milo-Slagle set the stage by pointing out that the staffing shortages that have plagued healthcare remain prevalent across every setting and throughout the entire continuum of care. She stressed the importance of addressing enterprise-wide needs, preparing for the increasing demands from an aging population, and the challenges of aligning resources to fluctuating demand and acuity while remaining focused on delivering high-quality patient care and preserving nurse satisfaction, retention, and engagement.
Milo-Slagle shared some of the history of staffing mandates and regulations. In 2004, California became the first state with staffing regulations. The process to implement the California regulations began in 1999 and by 2009, 14 additional states and the District of Columbia had enacted nurse staffing regulations, and 17 more states were in the process of crafting legislation. With nearly 30 states working towards staffing regulations, California remains the only state with minimum staffing ratios in place.
While efforts to mandate staffing ratios are ongoing, a study published in June of 2023 in Nurse.org found that 79% of nurses reported that their units were not adequately staffed. The same study found that the intent to leave nursing increased from 35% in the Fall of 2022 to 40% in March of 2023.
Safe staffing is one of The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) core federal policy priorities and includes three approaches: 1. Staffing committees: nurse-led efforts to create unit-level staffing plans based on the patient population’s acuity matched with staff’s skills and experience, 2. Mandated nurse to patient ratios or standards, and 3. Mandated public disclosure of staffing levels to the public and to regulatory bodies.
The ANA supports a model incorporating nurse-driven staffing committees to support flexible staffing levels.
Milo-Slagle went on to point out that the ongoing nursing shortage is being exacerbated by a set of persistent factors:
The high and increasing turnover rates should not come as a surprise as a July 2023 study conducted by the ANA found that:
In addition, 20% of all nurses are enrolled in a union. Unionization in healthcare is on the rise, particularly since the pandemic. Healthcare workers are seeking to use the power of collective bargaining to improve wages, benefits, workloads, and to address patient and employee safety issues.
Healthcare leaders are seeking solutions that will optimize staffing, meet staffing guidelines and regulations, and meet union requirements. Leaders need solutions that help proactively match the needs of patients with the talents of their staff. Milo-Slagle admitted that there will always be staffing challenges that arise, but being able to predict needs based on historical data and identify the credentials of the staff that will care for them is an important part of the solution. HealthStream’s ShiftWizard can help leaders accomplish.
Epler highlighted just a few of the features that users will find within ShiftWizard and how they can help address staffing mandates. ShiftWizard features a dashboard that is both intuitive and interactive. From the dashboard, users are able build a staffing matrix that will show which areas are over or under-staffed and help match patient needs to nurses’ skills. The dashboard may also be configured to show a single unit, the entire facility, or an enterprise-wide view.
The reporting is based on census data that can be refreshed as often as every 15 minutes. “ShiftWizard also uses the last two to three years of census data, applies machine learning, and is then able to predict census up to 120 days out allowing leaders to build a more dynamic schedule,” said Epler.
In addition, nurses can self-schedule using ShiftWizard which has been shown to be a significant satisfier and can contribute to a better work life balance. There is also a flexible messaging function that allows leaders to communicate with staff about available shifts or any other topics as needed.
HealthStream’s Acuity and Assignment Manager can be used with ShiftWizard and allows leaders to match a patient to a particular caregiver. Leaders can make safe and equitable assignments ensuring that the right nurse has been assigned to the right patient. In addition to the census data, nurse certification and licensure data is accessible within ShiftWizard so that leaders can feel confident in the assignments.
A mobile app for both iPhone and Android users is available for leaders and staff to be able to connect with scheduling reports and open shifts at a time and place of their convenience.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsLearn more about HealthStream's provider credentialing, privileging, & enrollment solutions for healthcare organizations.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All Products