 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Cherié R. Forsha, RN, MSN/MPH, CNS, Public Health Nursing Administration, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, 251 North Figueroa St., Rm 347, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 213-989-7095, cforsha@dhs.co.la.ca.us
California regulation requires clinical areas to have a patient classification system (PCS) in place that is valid and reliable and predicts staffing based on patient care requirements. The Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Health Services (DHS) contracted with a consulting group to design a PCS in accordance with the requirements and conduct a staff activity study to evaluate the patterns of staff utilization, demonstrate the actual amount of care provided to patients at each PCS level, and assess the perception of staffing adequacy. The project was implemented in three phases. Ambulatory care clinics were the focus of phase two, of which Public Health Clinics were included. The consulting group trained 35 PCS coordinators for LAC to be in house experts in developing PCS tools and conducting unit studies. The Public Health PCS tool was the first created for Public Health Clinics by this organization. The PCS tool measures care interactions that reflect both complexity and quantity of patient care within four distinct care levels. Indicators related to the type of assistance determine the care levels or the level of care for which the patient required the majority of the time. The indicators include: 1) Activities of Daily Living, 2) Resistant to treatment, 3) Assess/Intervene and 4) Care Management. After implementing the tool a study was conducted in one of LAC’s Public Health Tuberculosis Clinics. The results of the study had limitations, but gave insight on effective use of staff, resources and workload of the nursing staff.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment