TABLE 2.
Medical-Surgical Patient-to-Nurse Ratio and Compliance Status in the Preimplementation and Postimplementation Periods
| Preimplementation | Postimplementation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Hospitals (%) | Patient-to-Nurse Ratio (SD) | Number of Hospitals (%) | Patient-to-Nurse Ratio (SD) | |||
| Non-safety Net | 145 (84%) | 5.15 (1.03) | 3.93 (0.71) | |||
| Compliant | 67 (46%) | 4.30 (0.51) | { | Compliant | 65 (97%) | 3.59 (0.54) |
| Noncompliant | 2 (3%) | 5.07 (0.03) | ||||
| Noncompliant | 78 (54%) | 5.89 (0.76) | { | Compliant | 69 (88%) | 3.99 (0.47) |
| Noncompliant | 9 (12%) | 5.56 (0.79) | ||||
| Safety Net | 28 (16) | 5.33 (1.42) | 4.18 (1.24) | |||
| Compliant | 11 (39%) | 4.15 (0.74) | { | Compliant | 10 (91%) | 3.33 (0.46) |
| Noncompliant | 1 (9%) | 5.60 (–) | ||||
| Noncompliant | 17 (61%) | 6.10 (1.22) | { | Compliant | 13 (76%) | 4.08 (0.55) |
| Noncompliant | 4 (24%) | 6.28 (1.57) | ||||
Note: Percentages under the Preimplementation column are percentages for each safety-net category. The Postimplementation column shows compliance based on whether hospitals’ average staffing level was greater than 5 patients per nurse (noncompliant) or 5 patients or fewer per nurse after 2004. The percentages under Postimplementation then represent the postimplementation status row percentage based on each safety net's X initial compliance combination.