Sobering Report on the Heels of National Nurses' Week: 40 Percent of Hospitals Fail to Meet National Nursing Workforce Standard

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May 13, 2015, 10:04 ET

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The majority of workers in American hospitals are nurses, and they are key to quality care, but hospitals need to do more to support them, according to a report released today by nonprofit hospital watchdog The Leapfrog Group. The results, as analyzed by Castlight Health, determined that 40 percent of hospitals reporting to the Leapfrog Hospital Survey did not comply with all of the 21 National Quality Forum (NQF)-endorsed safe practices related to nursing workforce.

The safe practices require that all nursing staff services and leadership are able to provide adequate and safe care. To attain the standard, hospitals must either comply with the 21 Leapfrog nursing workforce safe practices or, alternatively, achieve Magnet Status® recognition from the American Nursing Credentials Center.

Key report findings include:

The percentage of hospitals that achieved full compliance on the nursing workforce safe practice grew from 52 percent in 2013 to 60 percent in 2014. Despite this increase, two in five reporting hospitals did not fully meet Leapfrog standards.
Leapfrog-reporting hospitals achieving Magnet Status increased from 15.5 percent in 2013 to 16 percent in 2014. Only seven percent of all hospitals nationwide have achieved Magnet Status.

To view the complete report on nursing best practices, visit: http://www.leapfroggroup.org/HospitalSurveyReport. Additionally, data is searchable by region or by hospital via the Leapfrog Hospital Survey results.

Today's report is the fourth in a series of six reports examining key quality and safety measures at hospitals nationwide, based on data taken from the 2014 Leapfrog Hospital Survey of 1,501 U.S. hospitals and analyzed by Castlight Health. All reports are available at http://www.leapfroggroup.org/HospitalSurveyReport.

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care.

About Castlight Health
Castlight Health, Inc. is a leader in Enterprise Healthcare Management. For more information visit www.castlighthealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and Like us on Facebook. Source: Castlight Health.

CONTACTS:

Ashley Duvall
Stern + Associates / Leapfrog
908-325-3865
[email protected]

Jim Rivas
Castlight Health
415-515-8780
[email protected]

SOURCE The Leapfrog Group