Nurse staffing directly impacts the safety of children in pediatric hospitals. According to a study, led by Dr. Tubbs-Cooley at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, children treated in hospitals with staffing ratios of 1 : 4 or less were significantly less likely to be readmitted within 15–30 days.
Each one patient increase in a hospital’s average staffing ratio increased a medical child’s odds of readmission within 15–30 days by 11% and a surgical child’s likelihood of readmission within 15–30 days by 48% according to the study published in BMJ Quality and Safety in Health Care
This research is coming few days after the Registered Nurse Safe Staffing bill was introduced in Congress.