Patient outcomes and cost savings associated with hospital safe nurse staffing legislation: an observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To evaluate variation in Illinois hospital nurse staffing ratios and to determine whether higher nurse workloads are associated with mortality and length of stay for patients, and cost outcomes for hospitals.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis of multiple data sources including a 2020 survey of nurses linked to patient outcomes data.Setting: 87 acute care hospitals in Illinois.

Participants

210 493 Medicare patients, 65 years and older, who were hospitalised in a study hospital. 1391 registered nurses employed in direct patient care on a medical-surgical unit in a study hospital.

Main outcome measures

Primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and length of stay. Deaths avoided and cost savings to hospitals were predicted based on results from regress

SUBMITTER: Lasater KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8655582 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature