JCAHO establishes Nursing Advisory Council

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has established a 30-member Nursing Advisory Council to help the Joint Commission address the recommendations contained in its recent report, Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Addressing the Evolving Nursing Crisis. That report warns that the growing shortage of nurses in America's hospitals is putting patient lives in danger and requires immediate attention. The Council will also work to help optimize the impacts of the staffing effectiveness standards introduced last summer and the new accreditation process to be introduced next January.

Marilyn P. Chow, R.N., DNSc, FAAN, is chairing the new Nursing Advisory Council. Dr. Chow is vice president of patient care services at Kaiser Permanente and is also the official at-large nursing representative on the Joint Commission's Board of Commissioners.

The Council includes representatives from the American Academy of Nursing American Association of Colleges of Nursing, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, American Nurses Association, American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Organization of Nurse Executives, National Black Nurses Association, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, National League of Nursing, and the Federation of American Hospitals. Atlarge members include researchers, a magnet hospital representative. labor representatives and public members (visit:http://www.jcaho.org/news room/news release archives/nursing advisory council members.htm).

"I am delighted to be a part of the Nursing Advisory Council because I know, both as a nurse executive and JCAHO board member, how important this issue is," says Dr. Chow. "Solving the nursing crisis is going to require a commitment from leaders across health care and the public and private sectors. The formation of this Council is an important step in that direction."

More than 126,000 nursing positions are unfilled today and that number is expected to skyrocket just as 78 million aging Baby Boomers begin placing unprecedented demands on America's health care system later in this decade. The nurse staffing problem is a major factor in emergency department overcrowding, cancellation of elective surgeries, discontinuation of clinical services, and the limited ability of the health care system to respond to any mass casualty incident. In addition, 90 percent of nursing homes report an insufficient number of nurses to provide even the most basic of care, and some home health agencies are being forced to refuse new patients.

The Joint Commission's report, Health Care at the Crossroads: Strategies for Addressing the Evolving Nursing Crisis, is available on the Joint Commission website at www.jcaho.org, or can be obtained without charge by calling Customer Service at 630.792.5800.