Joint Commission Seeks Solutions to National Concerns about Staffing at Health Care Facilities

(Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. – September 28, 2000) The nation’s leading evaluator of health care quality, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, assembled a panel of approximately 100 experts to seek their ideas on the best ways to improve the Joint Commission’s current standards related to the assessment of appropriate staffing at the health care facilities it evaluates.

This effort is part of the Joint Commission’s commitment to improving patient care and patient safety through its
accreditation process improvement initiative. Appropriate staffing levels continue to emerge as a serious issue of concern among both health care professionals and consumers.

The Joint Commission sought individuals throughout the United States with current direct patient care experience, operations management, labor representation, and performance measurement or performance improvement expertise to examine staffing issues. Organizations such as the American College of Health Care Executives, the American Nurses Association and the American Organization of Nurse Executives have individuals serving on the panels.

Panel participants convened earlier this month to analyze and offer ideas on two proposed models for an improved assessment of the adequacy of staffing. The models were developed with input gathered earlier this year from accredited health care organizations, groups that represent these organizations and other stakeholders in the accreditation process. 
The expert panels also provided recommendations regarding indicators for determining whether a health care organization’s staffing ensures optimum patient 
safety and care.

Feedback from the expert panels will be considered and recommendations will be presented to the Joint Commission’s Oversight Task Force for Accreditation Process Improvement in November, with changes in the accreditation process and/or accreditation standards anticipated in 2001.

Current Joint Commission standards require more than 19,000 accredited health care organizations to identify and provide the right number of competent staff to meet the needs of patients. These standards focus on human resources planning to define the qualifications, competencies and adequacy of staffing necessary to fulfill the organization’s mission; providing competent staff; assessing, maintaining and improving staff competence; and promoting staff self-development and continued learning.