Registered nurses: can our supply meet the demand during a disaster?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Disaster Preparedness
• Nursing Workforce

Background:

• Natural disasters severely impact healthcare infrastructure and patient care.
• Limited understanding exists regarding hospital operational capacity and resource availability during catastrophic events.
• Assessing the registered nurse (RN) supply against patient needs during disasters is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the sufficiency of the registered nurse (RN) workforce in New Jersey hospitals during Hurricane Sandy.
• To identify potential RN shortages in healthcare facilities during a major natural disaster.

Main Methods:

• Utilized secondary data from November 2011 and 2012, including State Inpatient Databases and American Hospital Association surveys.
• Analyzed hospital characteristics and staffing data from the New Jersey Department of Health.
• Employed three forecasting models to estimate the demand and supply of RN full-time equivalents and identify shortages.

Main Results:

• Data from 66 New Jersey hospitals indicated that over half experienced an RN shortage during Hurricane Sandy.
• Hospitals with RN shortages in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) required a 20% increase in RN supply.
• Non-ICU units facing RN shortages needed approximately a 10% increase in RN supply.

Conclusions:

• The study suggests a significant shortage of registered nurses (RNs) in many New Jersey hospitals during Hurricane Sandy.
• There is a clear need to enhance nurse resource availability and preparedness strategies for future natural disasters.
• Improving disaster response plans is essential for maintaining adequate patient care during emergencies.