Building a Business Case for Hiring Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Workforce Studies

Background:

• A multihospital system academic medical center sought to expand its Wound, Ostomy, and Continence (WOC) nursing team.
• Existing literature lacked specific staffing guidelines for WOC nurses, necessitating an internal evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a business case for expanding a WOC nurse team within an academic medical center.
• To justify the financial and quality benefits of increased WOC nurse staffing.

Main Methods:

• Collaborative development of a staffing proposal by nursing leadership and WOC nurses.
• Assessment of workload, volume growth, and benchmarking of internal and external staffing models.
• Market comparison to inform staffing recommendations.

Main Results:

• The business case highlighted the value of additional WOC nurses in reducing hospital-acquired pressure injury (HAPI) incidence and increasing ostomy consults.
• Approval for additional full-time equivalents was granted, conditional on reducing HAPI rates and analyzing HAPI treatment costs.

Conclusions:

• WOC nurses provide substantial value, positively impacting patient experience, financial metrics, organizational reputation, and quality performance.
• Investing in WOC nurse staffing is crucial for enhancing clinical outcomes and operational efficiency.