Joint Commission Issues Interim Staffing Effectiveness Standards

Originally introduced by The Joint Commission in July 2002, staffing effectiveness is the appropriate level of nurse staffing that will provide for the best possible outcome of individual patients throughout a particular facility.  Fast forward to June 2009: The Joint Commission suspended these standards because of the debate of the results from across the country. This suspension was short lived as The Joint Commission recently announced the approval of its interim staffing effectiveness standards for 2010. The new staffing effectiveness standards will become effective July 1, 2010, and will remain in effect, as The Joint Commission continues to research the issues of staffing effectiveness.