Staffing Standards for Patient Populations. The Employer and Association agree that the assignment of patients will take into consideration staffing standards, patient conditions and departmental needs. o Medical/Surgical units (includes Medical, Post Surgery, Med Oncology and Tele units): 1 RN: 1:5 o Progressive Care units (includes ACC, CCU, Rainier PCU, CVSS, PCU): 1:4 o Critical Care (includes CVICU/MSICU/Neuro ICU): 1:1 or 1:2 o ED: 1:4 o OR: 1 RN Circulator; 1 Scrub; higher level cases may have a second RN o PACU: 1:2 o NICU: 1:2-3 o Birth Center: 1:1 or 1:2 o Women and Infant: 1:4 couplets o Antepartum: 1:3 stable or 1:1 non-stable • Standards for units not listed will be established by the Staffing Committee. • Unscheduled absences, including intermittent FMLA, are counted as a filled shift for purposes of the staffing standards. • RNs and LPNs who leave the floor for reasons including but not limited to transport, a code response, etc., shall be counted as a filled shift. • Remedy is limited to the shift on which the deviation occurred for the nurse whose assignment exceeds the staffing standards on the affected unit and shift. The remedy shall be in the form of an hourly premium paid for that specific shift and unit of $5.00 per hour. • Premium pay as described above is the exclusive remedy for deviations from these standards. It is the Employer’s intention to continue its current practice of keeping Charge Nurses free from direct patient care responsibilities whenever possible. The Union and Employer recognize that there are circumstances that may require a Charge Nurse to assume direct patient care responsibilities. When a Charge Nurse assumes a 50% or more direct patient care assignment in accordance with the staffing standards set for the unit (i.e. a PCU Charge RN assumes the direct patient care responsibilities for 2 patients in addition to charge duties), the Charge Nurse may either relinquish charge duties with agreement of his/her manager or the Charge Nurse will be considered to be eligible for the remedy.
Staffing Standards for Patient Populations. The Employer and Association agree that the assignment of patients will take into consideration staffing standards, patient conditions and departmental needs. o Medical/Surgical units (includes Medical, Post Surgery, Med Oncology and Tele units): 1 RN 1 LPN Team: 1:7, or 1 RN: 1:5 o Progressive Care units (includes ACC, CCU, Rainier PCU, CVSS, PCU): 1:4 o Critical Care (includes CVICU/MSICU/Neuro ICU): 1:1 or 1:2 o ED: 1:4 o OR: 1 RN Circulator; 1 Scrub; higher level cases may have a second RN o PACU: 1:2 o NICU: 1:2-3 o Birth Center: 1:1 or 1:2 o Women and Infant: 1:4 couplets o Antepartum: 1:3 stable or 1:1 non-stable • Standards for units not listed will be established by the Staffing Committee no later than July 1, 2017. • Unscheduled absences, including intermittent FMLA, are counted as a filled shift for purposes of the staffing standards. • RNs and LPNs who leave the floor for reasons including but not limited to transport, a code response, etc., shall be counted as a filled shift. • The Employer will implement the system no later than July 1, 2017. • Remedy is limited to the shift on which the deviation occurred for the nurse whose assignment exceeds the staffing standards on the affected unit and shift. The remedy shall be in the form of an hourly premium paid for that specific shift and unit of $5.00 per hour. • Premium pay as described above is the exclusive remedy for deviations from these standards. It is Tacoma General’s intention to maintain a Med Surg team nursing standard of each team having 6-7 patients with a surge capability to 8. It is the Employer’s intention to continue its current practice of keeping Charge Nurses free from direct patient care responsibilities whenever possible. The Union and Employer recognize that there are circumstances that may require a Charge Nurse to assume direct patient care responsibilities. When a Charge Nurse assumes a 50% or more direct patient care assignment in accordance with the staffing standards set for the unit (i.e. a PCU Charge RN assumes the direct patient care responsibilities for 2 patients in addition to charge duties), the Charge Nurse may either relinquish charge duties with agreement of his/her manager or the Charge Nurse will be considered to be eligible for the remedy.
