Progressive care nurse Madison Eckhart, along with a group of Providence nurses, is speaking out against recent changes to staffing ratios at Providence Alaska Medical Center. The hospital has implemented a new “co-caring model” that involves sharing patient care between a virtual nurse, a certified nursing assistant, and a registered nurse. This change has resulted in an increase in the patient-nurse ratio for registered nurses, which the nurses argue will put patients in danger.
The nurses argue that the workload for bedside nurses is already overwhelming, and adding more patients to their care will stretch them beyond what is safe. They believe that the new staffing model will lead to missed tasks, bad patient outcomes, and ultimately a shortage of experienced nurses on staff.
Providence hospital officials defend the new model as a solution to a nationwide shortage of registered nurses, particularly acute in Alaska. They believe that the new model will redistribute the work of the bedside nurse, allowing registered nurses to focus more time on each patient. Some patients have reported better communication and care with the new model.
The union representing nurses has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board in response to the new staffing changes. While hospital officials are optimistic that nurses will warm up to the new model over time, nurses like Madison Eckhart are concerned that the increased workload will lead to burnout and a shortage of experienced nurses, ultimately impacting patient care.
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