JCAHO Acknowledges Nursing Shortage Effects On Patient Health

An August 7 report issued by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) revealed that low levels of nursing staff contributed to 24% of unanticipated problems that resulted in death or injury to hospital patients. The JCAHO used its "sentinel events" database to compile the data. (A sentinel event is defined as an unanticipated problem that results in serious injury or death of a patient.)

"We knew that some unanticipated deaths and permanent loss of function were related to inadequate numbers of nurses, but 24% surprised everybody," said Dr. Dennis O'Leary, JCAHO President. The JCAHO's findings also offer further support for allegations that the nursing shortage propagates poor health. "Nursing staffing is low in many institutions, and patients are being hurt by it," says Dr. Jack Needleman, an economist at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Now we need to move from arguing over whether that is the case to discussing how we can fix it."

The JCAHO offered several suggestions to help fix the problem, including: improving the nurse education system; basing a hospital's Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to its performance in improving nursing care; and improving the work environment for nurses.

Excerpted from "Patient Deaths Tied to Lack of Nurses" by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, August 8, 2002