Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota announces plans to rebalance nursing staff across all shifts

MINNEAPOLIS and ST. PAUL, Minn., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- To continue delivering high quality care to every child in its hospitals regardless of the time of day, and to provide more support to nurses working off-hour shifts, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota announced plans to rebalance nurses across units and shifts and add about 20 nurse full-time equivalents (FTEs).

The decision comes after an exhaustive review of nurse staffing by unit and shift for both the Minneapolis and St. Paul hospitals. Children's analyzed data around patient volumes and level of sickness (acuity), reviewed current nurse scheduling patterns, and identified how Children's can add flexibility to better meet the needs of every child requiring hospital care while honoring promises in its nurse union contract.

To fix the imbalance under the terms of its Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) contract,  Children's will need to eliminate some positions, offering nurses the opportunity to rebid for other positions, take early retirement if eligible, take a temporary leave of absence or reduce their hours. However, the number of nursing positions created will exceed by 20 FTEs the number eliminated and greatly reduce unnecessary costs tied to overtime hours.

"Just as good medical care is evidence-based, our approach to nurse staffing is evidence-based, too," said Roxanne Fernandes, chief nursing officer of Children's of Minnesota. "We looked at the data, talked to nurses about what they need to deliver exceptional care, and established nurse-to-patient ratios that are more generous than those in recent state legislation and those of most leading children's hospitals in the nation."

While these changes are the right thing to do for patients and for nursing care, Children's understands that shift schedule changes will be difficult or not possible for some nurses and is working hard to limit the number of nurses impacted.

Children's will be implementing the scheduling changes through the month of July.

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota:

Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health care organizations in the United States, with 347 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 12,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient clinic visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Please visit www.childrensmn.org.

SOURCE Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota