Atlanta, GA, February 27, 2024 — As health systems, hospitals, and other health organizations look for ways to stem the tide on nursing burnout and turnover, Press Ganey and Compass One Healthcare have collaborated with the American Nurses Association (ANA) – through the Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation initiative – on a new e-book focused on ways to support and empower nurses.
“Amidst the intensifying demands on professional nurses, prioritizing their health and wellness isn’t just compassionate, it’s essential for their well-being and to the quality-of-care nurses deliver,” said Aundrea Mills, Chief Nursing Officer, Compass One. “Healthcare organizations must find innovative ways to support nurses, including incorporating technology solutions to help streamline workflows and alleviate some of the burdens nurses are facing.”
The challenge: Nurse turnover has seen its highest two years on record, hitting 27.1% in 2021 and 23% in 2023. It is estimated that 100,000 nurses left the profession due to the pressures and strains placed on them during and after the pandemic. Even in a perfect world, industry estimates foresee shortages of more than 500,000 nurses in the next five years, due to the impending retirement of 900,000 nurses by the end of the decade. All the turnover has significant financial impacts for health organizations. The average cost of turnover for a bedside RN is $52,350, a 13.5% increase over 2021.
Solutions: Working together, Press Ganey, Compass One, and the ANA have identified several critical steps that can be taken that will not only better support nurses but, in turn, result in better patient care and higher patient satisfaction.
Three key components of the framework are:
- Support nurses’ physical wellness. This starts with ensuring nurses are well nourished and hydrated. Little steps like providing more healthy snack options and quicker access to healthy retail meals ensures nurses have the energy they need to provide care during long shifts.
- Continually assess nurses’ views of their working environment. There is a direct correlation between nurses’ satisfaction and the patient experience. Regularly soliciting feedback from nurses about their working environment – including their safety, sense of purpose and workplace environment – is an important way for health organizations to determine what changes need to be made to promote satisfaction.
- Allow nurses to operate at the top of their license. Nurses are often asked to assume responsibility for many non-nursing tasks, such as food and nutrition services, environmental services, patient observation, and patient transportation. These tasks add to their stress and workload and take away from the time they can spend providing the skilled care they were trained to do. Freeing nurses from non-nursing tasks – which can be achieved by working with a support services partner like Compass One – enables them to devote more time to providing safe, high-quality, and compassionate care.
“When nurses are freed up to spend time providing care at the patient bedside instead of bogged down with administrative and other non-clinical tasks it’s a win-win for both nurses and their patients,” said Dusty Deringer, Vice President of Patient Experience, Compass One. “Patients who feel they receive a high-level of clinical care and attention from the nurses who are part of their care team leave the hospital setting with higher levels of overall satisfaction with their experience. In parallel, the more that nurses can focus on providing the compassionate and expert care they are trained to provide, the more satisfied they are on the job and the more likely they are to stay in their positions.”
The ANA’s Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation initiative focuses on improving the health and well-being of more than 5 million U.S. nurses by making improvements in six key areas: nutrition, physical activity, rest, quality of life, safety, and mental health.
To read the full report, click here.
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About Compass One Healthcare
Compass One Healthcare’s branded sectors, Morrison Healthcare (food and nutrition services), Crothall Healthcare (support services), TouchPoint Support Services (food and support services), and Compass Community Living Hospitality Group (food and support services for senior communities) provide exceptional expertise in 3,500 hospital and health systems and senior communities in 46 states. With more than 83,000 engaged team members, we focus on delivering quality, value, and exceptional resident and patient experience through our specialized services.
About Press Ganey
Press Ganey, the leading Human Experience (HX) healthcare performance improvement company, offers an integrated suite of solutions that address safety, clinical excellence, patient experience and workforce engagement. The company works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality, and experience of care. Press Ganey is a PG Forsta company.