FL H0919

Creates section 395.01922, Florida Statutes, requiring all hospitals licensed under Chapter 395 to establish a nurse staffing collaborative council by September 1, 2011.

Council membership determined by the chief nursing executive must include nurses currently providing direct patient care.

Council must develop and oversee annual patient care unit and shift-based nurse staffing plans based on patient needs, considering factors including census, patient acuity, skill mix, nursing education and experience, equipment needs, unit layout, professional staffing guidelines, hospital finances, and technology support.

Chief nurse executive must communicate and collaborate with the council to ensure safe and appropriate implementation of the staffing plan, and the council must conduct semiannual reviews of the plan using patient needs and evidence-based staffing information including nursing-sensitive quality indicators.

Staffing plan must be reviewed annually with nursing personnel in each patient care area and made available to the community upon request.