Swine flu (H1N1) is spreading and the nation's health care workers--the first line of defense against the disease-- are at rik if hospitals are not implementing appropriate infection control for care of patients. 

Find out if the hospital where you work is doing everything it should to protect staff.  Here are some recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Hospitals should have mechanisms to screen patients for signs and symptoms of febrile respiratory illness.  Provisions should be made to allow for prompt segregation and assessment.
  
  
• Isolation precautions should include standard and contact precautions plus eye protection for all patient care activities for patients being evaluated or in isolation for swine flu.
  
  
• Respiratory protection- all healthcare personnel who enter the rooms of patients in isolation for swine influenza should wear a fit-tested disposable N95 respirator or equivalent. 
  
  
• Any healthcare worker who was not using appropriate personal protective equipment during close contact with an ill confirmed, probable or suspect case of H1N1 during the case's infectious period should be given an antiviral chemoprophylaxis.
  

A delegation of over 100 nurses delivered petitions signed by nearly 2,000 nurses to legislative leaders in Springfield at the Nurse Lobby Day held March 25.  The petition calls for passage of legislation that would ensure safe nurse staffing levels in all Illinois hospitals. 

"Too many hospitals don't have enough nurses working at the bedside," said Ethel Barbee, a nurse at West Suburban Medical Center, who presented the petition to Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.  "That was our message to lawmakers, and we had sugnatures from nurses around the state to prove out point." 

"Some of the lawmakers have been told that there's no problem with short staffing in Illinois hospitals," added Laura Buenrostro, an RN at West Subruban Medical Center, who presented the petitions to House Majority leader Representative Barbara Flynn Currie.  "So it was important for them to hear from us about what's really going on at the bedside."

A survey in the December 22nd edition of Advance for Nurses shows that a majority of nurses (58%) said state-mandated nurse-to-patient ratios are good for the patients and for nurses.  Forty two percent responded that ratios should be set by the hospital rather than the government and only 0.2% thought ratios would harm healthcare by draining hospital finances. 

In addition, 48% of nurses surveyed stated that mandated staffing ratios would lead to the greatest improvement in patient safety.  Other improvements included better communication between doctors and nurses, cited by 29% of nurses, electronic medical records at 14% and 8% of nurses cited automated medication administration as the greatest improvement. 

The RN2RN Network held two high energy and interactive workshops for nurses recently.  The workshops brought together more than 100 nurses to build effective skills for patient advocacy and to kick off a petition campaign for safe nurse-to-patient ratios. 

“This workshop was terrific.  I felt like I learned a lot and got some great tips on communicating,” said Lillie Smith-Beacham, RN, West Suburban Medical Center.  “The energy and enthusiasm really made me want to talk to every nurse I know about safe staffing.” 

Mary Driscoll, RN, MPH, Chief of the Division of Patient Safety and Quality at the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), provided workshop participants with an overview of the Hospital Report Card Act.  The law requires Illinois hospitals to report on nurse staffing and patient outcomes.  According to Driscoll the IDPH will begin posting the hospital data on its website early next year.

Several nurses involved in the campaign for safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios presented updates on the lobbying and public outreach efforts and discussed plans for a petition drive to culminate in a nurse lobby day in Springfield in February.

Employees report the greatest dissatifaction with staffing, compensation and participation.  The report also noted that improving employee satisfaction can improve patient satisfaction.

The most satisfied employees were those grouped as “all other administrative services,” which includes all management, and employees in human resources and information systems.

The report, released by Press Ganey, a major healthcare industry consulting group, warns health care corporations that they should be particularly concerned about the level of dissatisfaction among RNs given the challenges of recruitment and retention.  For more information click here.