Recently in Health Care Workers Category

Source: B. Mark, D. W. Harless, J. Spetz, Health Affairs, Vol. 28 no. 2, Published online February 10, 2009
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From the abstract:
In 2004, California became the first state to implement minimum-nurse-staffing ratios in acute care hospitals. We examined the wages of registered nurses (RNs) before and after the legislation was enacted. Using four data sets--the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, the Current Population Survey, the National Compensation Survey, and the Occupational Employment Statistics Survey--we found that from 2000 through 2006, RNs in California metropolitan areas experienced real wage growth as much as twelve percentage points higher than the growth in the wages of nurses employed in metropolitan areas outside of California.

Source: Catherine Spader, Nurse.com, February 9, 2009

Despite the current economic slump, nursing workforce experts say nurses are still the bulls in the current bear job market -- and will continue to be in demand now and even more so in the future.

Source: American Hospital Association, November 2008

With our nation's economic troubles, fewer patients are seeking hospital care while at the same time a growing proportion of patients need help paying for care, according to the study, Report on the Economic Crisis: Initial Impact on Hospitals. This report is based on survey results from 736 hospitals and information from DATABANK, a web-based reporting system used in 30 states to track key hospital trends.
See also:
Chartpack
Full Survey Results
Press Release

Related stories:
- Beyond Health Care: The Economic Contribution of Hospitals, January 2009 Update
- Report on the Capital Crisis: Impact on Hospitals, January 2009
* PowerPoint version of the report
* Press Release
- The Economic Downturn and Its Impact on Hospitals, TrendWatch, January 2009
* Chartpack

Source: Karl Pillemer, Rhoda Meador, Charles Henderson, Jr., Julie Robison, Carol Hegeman, Edwin Graham, and Leslie Schultz, Gerontologist, Volume 48, Special Issue I , 2008

Employee retention programs for long-term care staff need to be cost-effective and evidence-based. A retention specialist (RS) situated in nursing homes is one strategy that could improve retention of certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in nursing homes.

The current article presented findings from a randomized, controlled evaluation of the Retention Specialist Program (RSP). RSP targeted systematic facility problems related to staff turnover. Data collection involved CNA interviews and measurement of turnover at 30 facilities at baseline, six months and 12 months. Facilities were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. As part of the intervention, RSs received training on retention, provision of ongoing technical assistance, and leveraging community resources. Outcome variables were attitudes toward the facility and satisfaction and job stress.

Key Findings:

* In treatment facilities, CNA turnover rates significantly decreased from baseline to 12-month assessment as compared to control facilities.

* CNA ratings of quality of care increased from baseline to six-month assessment. Similar change was seen in quality of staff education and facility trainings.

* No changes were observed in job satisfaction or stress.

Source: Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, January 2009

Direct-care workers provide an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the paid hands-on long-term care and personal assistance received by Americans who are elderly or living with disabilities or other chronic conditions. These workers help their clients bathe, dress, eat, and negotiate a host of other daily tasks. They are a lifeline for those they serve, as well as for families struggling to provide quality care. Direct-care workers also constitute one of the largest and fastest-growing workforces in the country, playing a vital role in job creation and economic growth, particularly in low-income communities.

Source: Amy Butler, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 27, 2009

The National Compensation Survey now publishes wage data on full-time workers in private nonprofit establishments. This is the third in a series of three articles comparing the average hourly earnings of full-time workers in private nonprofits, private industry as a whole, State governments, and local governments.

In 2007, there were more than 1.64 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. Nonprofits include, but are not limited to, hospitals, churches, educational institutions, social welfare organizations, and charitable organizations. Health professionals, educators, other professionals, health technicians, administrative support workers, and service occupations account for the majority of paid workers in the nonprofit sector.

Source: Andy Carter, Home Healthcare Nurse, Volume 27 Number 1, January 2009

Nurses and other clinicians providing healthcare in patients' homes and community settings have what it takes to control the number 1 cause for the rapid growth in national healthcare expenditures, namely, the increasing prevalence of chronic illness. That is, they have the skills and ability to prevent the need for costly hospital emergency room care, to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, and to reduce lengths of stay in both hospitals and nursing homes for those with chronic conditions.

Source: Dana Tschannen, Beatrice J. Kalisch, Western Journal of Nursing Research, Vol. 31 No. 2, 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
This study examines the relationship between nurse staffing and patient length of stay (LOS). Data were collected on nurses employed and patients admitted to one of four study units located in two Midwest hospitals. Three nursing variables (hours per patient day [HPPD], skill mix, and nursing expertise) were collected through survey and administrative forms. The nursing data were then linked with patient-specific characteristics (deviation from expected LOS) to test the relationship at the patient level of analysis. Average HPPD was a positive predictor of deviation from expected LOS, whereas overall expertise was a negative predictor of deviation from expected LOS. Higher staffing levels may result in patients being discharged sooner than expected. Nurse administrators must consider the quantity as well as quality of staff when determining optimal staffing levels. Unit staffing levels must include nurses who have both experiential and theoretical knowledge in order to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

Source: A. A. Arif, G. L. Delclos, C. Serra, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2008
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
A study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggests that nurses and other health care professionals who are frequently exposed to hospital cleaning products and disinfectants are at greater risk of developing asthma, HealthDay News reports. To assess the impact of chemical exposure on workers' health, a team led by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte surveyed 3,650 Texas health care professionals, including 941 nurses. According to the results, health care workers with frequent exposure to cleaning products were 72 percent more likely than their colleagues to be diagnosed with asthma since starting their job and 57 percent more likely to report experiencing asthma symptoms. Specifically, health care workers who were frequently exposed to glue and solvents were 51 percent more likely to report asthma-like symptoms, while nurses who regularly cleaned medical instruments were 67 percent more likely to be diagnosed with asthma. In addition, nurses who used powdered latex gloves before the year 2000 were 6 percent more likely to have newly diagnosed asthma. Based on the findings, the researchers recommend substituting existing cleaning agents for environmentally-friendly chemicals. They also suggest that health care workers implement appropriate personal care protection to minimize exposure to harmful chemicals.

Source: Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Northwestern Law Review Colloquy, Vol. 103, 2009

From the abstract:
Imagine that a group of foreign registered nurses approach their lawyer because they feel abused and want to quit their jobs. They signed an employment contract agreeing to remain employed for three years and are unsure of their rights. The contract that they signed also contains a $25,000 liquidated damage provision. The lawyer advised his clients that they have to right to quit, and after they quit, the lawyer and his clients find themselves at the center of a massive criminal and civil controversy. Both the lawyer and his clients are criminally charged with endangering the welfare of critically ill pediatric patients and related crimes because the nurses resigned en masse without notice. You might think that such a case could not arise in Twenty-First Century America, but in 2007 that is exactly what occurred in Suffolk County New York and resulted in a New York appellate court having to prohibit the criminal prosecution of both the nurses and their attorney. Matter of Vinluan v. Doyle, ___A.D.3d___, 2009 WL 93065 (2d. Dep't. Jan. 13, 2009).

This Essay examines this troubling case, where the court held that such a prosecution offended the Thirteenth Amendment and the attorneys First Amendment right to provide legal advice to his clients. This Essay explores the public policy issues raised by this case, whether nurses have the same right to withhold their labor as other employees, as well as certain issues which the court did not reach such as whether criminal prosecution of the nurses is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act. Additionally, this Essay explores legal issues surrounding the criminal prosecution of an attorney based on advice he may have given which the court ultimately found to be "profoundly disturbing." The Essay concludes by explaining that the liquidated damage provision, which may have sparked this entire controversy, was probably unenforceable as a penalty, another issue not reached by the court, that criminal prosecution of both the nurses and their attorney was unwarranted and that the Appellate Division decision was correctly decided.