The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.
|
Sub. H. B. No. 346 As Passed by the SenateAs Passed by the Senate
127th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2007-2008 |
| |
Cosponsors:
Representatives Hagan, R., DeGeeter, Yuko, Strahorn, Flowers, Peterson, Setzer, Oelslager, Williams, S., Fende, Skindell, Bacon, Batchelder, Beatty, Boyd, Brown, Celeste, Chandler, Combs, DeBose, Distel, Driehaus, Dyer, Evans, Gerberry, Goyal, Harwood, Heard, Jones, Letson, Luckie, McGregor, J., Okey, Patton, Sayre, Schneider, Slesnick, Szollosi, White, Williams, B., Yates
Senators Cafaro, Morano, Goodman, Padgett, Schuring, Miller, D., Wagoner, Boccieri, Buehrer, Coughlin, Fedor, Grendell, Kearney, Mason, Miller, R., Roberts, Sawyer, Schaffer, Smith, Spada, Amstutz, Harris
A BILL
To enact sections 3727.50 to 3727.57 of the Revised
Code
regarding hospital staffing guidelines for
registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3727.50, 3727.51, 3727.52, 3727.53,
3727.54, 3727.55, 3727.56, and 3727.57 of the Revised Code be
enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3727.50. As used in this section and sections
3727.51
to 3727.57 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Direct patient care" means care provided by a
nurse
with
direct responsibility to carry out medical
regimens or
nursing
care for one or more patients.
(B) "Inpatient care unit" means a hospital unit, including an
operating room or other inpatient care area, in which nursing care
is provided to patients who have been admitted to the hospital.
(C) "Nurse" means a person who is licensed to practice as a
registered nurse under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code or, if
the hospital employs licensed practical nurses, a person who is
licensed to practice as a licensed practical nurse under that
chapter.
Sec. 3727.51. (A) Each hospital shall convene a hospital-wide
nursing
care
committee not later than ninety days after the
effective date
of
this section or, if the hospital is not
treating patients on
the
effective date of this section, ninety
days after the hospital
begins to treat patients. The hospital
shall select the members of the committee, subject to all of the
following:
(1) The hospital's chief nursing officer shall be included as
a member of the committee.
(2) At least fifty per cent of the committee's membership
shall consist of registered nurses who provide direct patient care
in the hospital.
(3) The number of registered nurses included as members of
the committee shall be sufficient to provide adequate
representation of all types of nursing care services provided in
the hospital.
(B) The committee member who is the hospital's chief nursing
officer shall establish a mechanism for obtaining input from
nurses in all
inpatient care units who provide direct patient
care regarding
what the nursing services staffing plan
recommendations described
in division (B) of section 3727.52 of
the Revised Code should
include.
Sec. 3727.52. A hospital-wide nursing care committee convened
pursuant to section 3727.51 of the Revised Code shall do both of
the following:
(A) If one exists, evaluate the hospital's current nursing
services staffing plan;
(B) Recommend a nursing services staffing plan that is, at a
minimum,
consistent
with current standards established by private
accreditation organizations or governmental entities and addresses
all of the
following:
(1) The selection, implementation, and evaluation of minimum
staffing levels for all inpatient care units that ensure that the
hospital has a staff of competent nurses with the specialized
skills needed to meet patient needs in accordance with
evidence-based safe nurse staffing standards;
(2) The complexity of complete care, assessment on patient
admission, volume of patient admissions, discharges and transfers,
evaluation of the progress of a patient's problems, the amount of
time needed for patient education, ongoing
physical assessments,
planning for a patient's discharge,
assessment after a change in
patient condition, and assessment of
the need for patient
referrals;
(3) Patient acuity and the number of patients for whom care
is being provided;
(4) The need for ongoing assessments of a unit's patients and
its nursing staff levels;
(5) The hospital's policy for identifying additional nurses
who can provide direct patient care when patients' unexpected
needs exceed the planned workload for direct care staff.
Sec. 3727.53. (A) In accordance with division (B) of this
section, each hospital shall create an evidence-based
written
nursing
services staffing plan guiding the
assignment of
nurses
hospital-wide. The staffing plan shall be
implemented not
later
than ninety days after the hospital-wide
nursing care
committee
is convened pursuant to section 3727.51 of
the Revised
Code,
except that if the hospital's next fiscal year
starts not
later
than one hundred eighty days after the date on
which the
committee convenes, implementation may be delayed until
the first
day of that fiscal year.
(B) The staffing plan created under this section shall, at a
minimum, reflect current standards established by private
accreditation organizations or governmental entities. The plan
shall be based on multiple nurse and patient
considerations that
yield minimum staffing levels for inpatient
care units that
ensure that the hospital has a staff of
competent
nurses with
specialized skills needed to meet patient
needs.
These
considerations shall include both of the following:
(1) The recommendations of the hospital-wide nursing care
committee made under section 3727.52 of the Revised Code, which
shall be given significant consideration;
(2) All of the matters listed in divisions (B)(1) to (5)
of
section 3727.52 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3727.54. At least once a year, the hospital-wide nursing
care committee convened pursuant to section 3727.51 of the Revised
Code shall do both of the following:
(A) Review how the most current nursing services staffing
plan does all of the following:
(1) Affects inpatient care outcomes;
(2) Affects clinical management;
(3) Facilitates a delivery system that provides, on a
cost-effective basis, quality nursing care consistent with
acceptable and prevailing standards of safe nursing care and
evidenced-based guidelines established by national nursing
organizations.
(B) Make recommendations, based on the most recent review
conducted under division (A) of this section, regarding how the
most current nursing services staffing plan should be revised, if
at all.
Sec. 3727.55. To provide staffing flexibility to meet patient
needs,
every hospital shall identify a model for adjusting the
nursing services
staffing
plan created under section 3727.53 of
the Revised Code
for each inpatient care unit.
Sec. 3727.56. (A) A hospital shall provide copies of its
nursing services staffing plan created under section 3727.53 of
the Revised Code, in accordance with both of the following:
(1) Free of charge, a copy of the staffing plan and
subsequent changes to the plan shall be provided to each member of
the hospital's nursing staff.
(2) For a fee not to exceed actual copying costs, a copy of
the staffing plan shall be provided to any person who requests it.
(B) In a conspicuous location in the hospital, a notice shall
be posted informing the public of the availability of the staffing
plan. The notice shall specify the appropriate person, office, or
department to be contacted to review or obtain a copy of the
staffing plan.
Sec. 3727.57. Nothing in sections 3727.50 to 3727.56 of the
Revised Code shall be construed to limit,
alter, or modify any of
the terms, conditions, or provisions of a
collective bargaining
agreement entered into by a hospital.
|
|