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Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language

CHAPTER 51--H.F.No. 588

An act

relating to health; requiring a hospital staffing report; requiring a study on nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes; appropriating money.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [144.7055] STAFFING PLAN DISCLOSURE ACT. new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given. new text end

new text begin (b) "Core staffing plan" means the projected number of full-time equivalent nonmanagerial care staff that will be assigned in a 24-hour period to an inpatient care unit. new text end

new text begin (c) "Nonmanagerial care staff" means registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and other health care workers, which may include but is not limited to nursing assistants, nursing aides, patient care technicians, and patient care assistants, who perform nonmanagerial direct patient care functions for more than 50 percent of their scheduled hours on a given patient care unit. new text end

new text begin (d) "Inpatient care unit" means a designated inpatient area for assigning patients and staff for which a distinct staffing plan exists and that operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week in a hospital setting. Inpatient care unit does not include any hospital-based clinic, long-term care facility, or outpatient hospital department. new text end

new text begin (e) "Staffing hours per patient day" means the number of full-time equivalent nonmanagerial care staff who will ordinarily be assigned to provide direct patient care divided by the expected average number of patients upon which such assignments are based. new text end

new text begin (f) "Patient acuity tool" means a system for measuring an individual patient's need for nursing care. This includes utilizing a professional registered nursing assessment of patient condition to assess staffing need. new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Hospital staffing report. new text end

new text begin (a) The chief nursing executive or nursing designee of every reporting hospital in Minnesota under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.50, will develop a core staffing plan for each patient care unit. new text end

new text begin (b) Core staffing plans shall specify the full-time equivalent for each patient care unit for each 24-hour period. new text end

new text begin (c) Prior to submitting the core staffing plan, as required in subdivision 3, hospitals shall consult with representatives of the hospital medical staff, managerial and nonmanagerial care staff, and other relevant hospital personnel about the core staffing plan and the expected average number of patients upon which the staffing plan is based. new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Standard electronic reporting developed. new text end

new text begin (a) Hospitals must submit the core staffing plans to the Minnesota Hospital Association by January 1, 2014. The Minnesota Hospital Association shall include each reporting hospital's core staffing plan on the Minnesota Hospital Association's Minnesota Hospital Quality Report Web site by April 1, 2014. Any substantial changes to the core staffing plan shall be updated within 30 days. new text end

new text begin (b) The Minnesota Hospital Association shall include on its Web site for each reporting hospital on a quarterly basis the actual direct patient care hours per patient and per unit. Hospitals must submit the direct patient care report to the Minnesota Hospital Association by July 1, 2014, and quarterly thereafter. new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin STUDY. new text end

new text begin The Department of Health shall convene a work group to consult with the department as they study the correlation between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes. This report shall be presented to the chairs and ranking minority members of the health and human services committees in the house of representatives and the senate by January 15, 2015. new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin APPROPRIATIONS; NURSING STAFFING. new text end

new text begin $187,000 in fiscal year 2014 and $65,000 in fiscal year 2015 are appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of health for the completion of the study in section 2. This is a onetime appropriation. new text end

Presented to the governor May 8, 2013

Signed by the governor May 9, 2013, 3:45 p.m.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes