Sec. 257.004.  NURSE STAFFING COMMITTEE.  (a)  A hospital shall establish a nurse staffing committee as a standing committee of the hospital.
(b)  The committee shall be composed of members who are representative of the types of nursing services provided in the hospital.
(c)  The chief nursing officer of the hospital is a voting member of the committee.
(d)  At least 60 percent of the members of the committee must be registered nurses who:
(1)  provide direct patient care during at least 50 percent of their work time; and
(2)  are selected by their peers who provide direct patient care during at least 50 percent of their work time.
(e)  The committee shall meet at least quarterly.
(f)  Participation on the committee by a hospital employee as a committee member is part of the employee's work time, and the hospital shall compensate that member for that time accordingly.  The hospital shall relieve a committee member of other work duties during committee meetings.
(g)  The committee shall:
(1)  develop and recommend to the hospital's governing body a nurse staffing plan that meets the requirements of Section 257.003;
(2)  review, assess, and respond to staffing concerns expressed to the committee;
(3)  identify the nurse-sensitive outcome measures the committee will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the official nurse services staffing plan;
(4)  evaluate, at least semiannually, the effectiveness of the official nurse services staffing plan and variations between the plan and the actual staffing; and
(5)  submit to the hospital's governing body, at least semiannually, a report on nurse staffing and patient care outcomes, including the committee's evaluation of the effectiveness of the official nurse services staffing plan and aggregate variations between the staffing plan and actual staffing.
(h)  In evaluating the effectiveness of the official nurse services staffing plan, the committee shall consider patient needs, nursing-sensitive quality indicators, nurse satisfaction measures collected by the hospital, and evidence-based nurse staffing standards.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 742 (S.B. 476), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009.