Background: Staffing Standards and Their Significance
Creating a team of experienced employees that are capable of meeting the company’s ethical and professional standards, engage in professional development, and deliver consistently positive results is a crucial step toward improving the overall performance of an organization and promoting further progress. Therefore, it is imperative to make sure that the staffing policies used in a particular institution align with the ones established by the state and support the idea of lifelong learning. Despite the fact that the current provisions of Miami, FL meet the state standards, they need to push the envelope a bit further so that the prerequisites for the consistent growth could be built.
The significance of the staffing standards is often underrated, yet it has an impressive effect on the way in which employees develop the necessary skills, acquire the relevant knowledge, accept the company’s value system, engage in the active professional growth, etc. As a result, staffing standards define the performance of employees and, therefore, the overall success of a company.
Furthermore, the regulations related to staffing help maintain the health standards high in a company. Particularly, inappropriate choices made by an organization as far as the staffing policies are concerned may lead to an increase in workload levels and, thus, aggravation of the employees’ health status. Particularly, workplace burnouts possibly followed by depression and similar health issues may become a threat unless an adequate system of staffing standards is deployed in a corporate environment.
A closer look at the JCAHO standards will show that, while allowing for a successful management of the issues associated with workplace burnouts, the identified framework does not provide an impetus for designing a flexible approach toward managing the needs of the employees. As a result, the modern healthcare environment in Miami, FL can be defined by a significant lack of healthcare experts.
Florida Standards Related to Staffing and JCAHO: Comparison
When considering the primary difference between the guidelines developed by the Florida Department of Healthcare and the JCAHO framework, one must mention that the latter suggests using a two-stage process of measuring performance expectations as far as the HCSS certification is concerned (Joint Commission, 2010). Particularly, the first step requires that essential data should be identified, collected, and analyzed carefully to identify possible dents in the current strategy for meeting the needs of patients and staff members accordingly.
Furthermore, the JCAHO standards demand that the coordination of services should be carried out efficiently. The Florida Healthcare Department (2013) mentions specifically that licensed vehicles should be used for transporting patients, employees, and necessary materials (Florida Department of Health, 2013). The identified regulation is especially important in maintaining patient and employee safety levels high.
There has also been a propensity for an increase in the staffing requirements in the domain of the Miami, FL healthcare system. Particularly, the regulations that have recently been introduced to the context of Florida hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities caused a significant drop in the number of available healthcare practitioners and the associated services (Bowblis & Hyer, 2013). The identified phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the bar for the qualifications of healthcare experts has been set very high, whereas the premise for improving their competencies and promoting the active acquisition of the necessary skills and knowledge have not been included (Chen & Grabowski, 2015).
Therefore, there is a difference between the standards adopted by the Miami, FL authorities and the ones that are promoted by JCAHO. Whereas the former encourages a gradual improvement in the quality of services and sets very rigid demands for healthcare practitioners, it does not provide the impetus that is necessary for the further professional growth of employees. The standards accepted in Miami, FL, in turn, fail to provide the patient-centered care that the JCAHO regulations promote due to the inability to encourage the employees to engage in professional growth.
The Standards That Take Precedence: Analysis
At present, several aspects of managing the staffing processes require especially close scrutiny. Particularly, the issues associated with understaffing, the increasingly high quality standards, and the current situation regarding education opportunities for healthcare professionals. One must admit that setting the bar higher and encouraging healthcare facilities to hire only the employees that possess outstanding knowledge and skills is an essential step toward improving patient outcomes and meeting the needs of diverse communities.
That being said, by introducing more rigid instructions into the context of healthcare, one creates a premise for a significant drop in the number of employees. As a result, hospitals may fail to deliver the services of the required quality to the target population, as the case of Miami, FL, as well as Florida healthcare facilities, in general, shows quite clearly (Gadbois, Miller, Tyler, & Intrator, 2015).
Therefore, it is crucial to review the standards mentioned above, especially the ones associated with the promotion of learning among nurses. As stressed above, the concept of regular improvements being introduced into the context of healthcare facilities is a positive change. However, it is also essential to make sure that healthcare practitioners are provided with a chance to meet the set standards. Thus, an impetus for change must be given by creating programs that will allow healthcare practitioners to develop the necessary skills. In other words, the standards for education and training must be reviewed.
As soon as new programs aimed at increasing the level of proficiency among healthcare practitioners are designed in Miami, FL, a gradual improvement will be observed as far as the staffing issues and the quality of care are concerned. Furthermore, the identified changes are bound to lead to a significant rise in the number of positive patient outcomes.
Ensuring High-Quality Services in the Healthcare Setting
A closer look at the regulations for staffing set by the Health Department of Florida and JCAHO will show that each of the systems has its advantages and disadvantages.
JCAHO Standards
As stressed above, it seems that JCAHO standards, which place a slight emphasis on the importance of professional development, can be viewed as essential in shaping the state regulations associated with staffing in healthcare. The focus on a more rigid system of measuring healthcare staff’s performance points to the fact that JCAHO sets the course for a positive change in the healthcare environment. Indeed, by introducing new standards that will allow raising the bar for performance quality, one will be able to promote a positive change across all healthcare services.
For instance, the adoption of a patient-centered approach and the use of the information related to the target population’s culture will serve as the basis for communicating with the target community members successfully. Furthermore, the enhancement of the communication process, in general, is expected once the specified changes are incorporated into the state healthcare system.
It should be borne in mind, though, that the lack of flexibility in the framework suggested by JCAHO creates significant problems for healthcare practitioners. For instance, the impetus for quality enhancement is far too strong to allow for a gradual transfer to a new system of patients’ needs management. As a result, the opportunities for helping healthcare practitioners gain the necessary knowledge and skills are missed, as the case of Miami, FL shows quite clearly.
Florida Standards
The regulations for staffing and recruitment that are currently used in Miami, FL, in turn, require a thorough reconsideration and a major change. The intention of meeting the highest quality standards and making sure that applicants possess the qualities and knowledge that meets the set criteria clearly is a positive aspect of the current Miami, FL healthcare regulations., However, the lack of educational opportunities that will help applicants meet the identified standards triggers a drop in the number of employees, therefore, causing the workload to increase exponentially.
The specified effects can be deemed as detrimental to both the well-being of patients and the performance of staff members. Particularly, the increasingly high workload causes healthcare practitioners to develop workplace burnouts and the subsequent health issues, such as depression (Schwartz, 2016).
As a result, the quality of healthcare services drops. Therefore, the Florida healthcare policies need a significant improvement that will help address the lack of competent healthcare experts. The specified characteristics of the Florida standards are very similar to the ones promoted by JCAHO, especially as far as the requirements for healthcare practitioners’ knowledge and skills are concerned.
Ironically, it is the tendency to comply with the JCAHO regulations by increasing the quality standards that makes the current situation in Florida so complicated. By carrying out the transfer to a different framework for managing healthcare service quality, the Florida Department of Health would have succeeded in the promotion of a better strategy for meeting patients’ needs. However, the lack of flexibility that can be observed in the JCAHO standards built the foundation for the mismanagement of the change in the context of the Florida healthcare environment. Therefore, the program aimed at creating opportunities for education and training among Florida healthcare practitioners must be viewed as a necessary step toward managing the situation. As a result, healthcare experts will be able to meet the set requirements and strive to achieve better patient outcomes.
Conclusion: Maintaining the Standards High
Creating the environment in which the patients’ needs will be met in a timely and efficient manner, and where the employees are given an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and grow professionally are crucial steps toward improving the quality of healthcare services. The identified goals can be achieved by reconsidering the current policy toward staffing. In Miami, FL, the introduction of new rigid standards combined with a drastic lack of opportunities for the further professional development of healthcare practitioners has triggered a massive drop in the number of positive patient outcomes, as well as the quality of healthcare services, in general.
Furthermore, the identified changes have triggered the development of a rather unhealthy environment for the staff members, who are forced to work on a very tight schedule, thus, developing workplace burnouts and the following health conditions, such as depression. Therefore, it is imperative to redesign the present-day approach to staffing adopted by JCAHO. Particularly, additional education opportunities must be provided to healthcare practitioners.
References
Bowblis, J. R., & Hyer, K. (2013). Nursing home staffing requirements and input substitution: Effects on housekeeping, food service, and activities staff. Health Services Research, 48(4), 1539-1550. Web.
Chen, M. M., & Grabowski, D. C. (2014). Intended and unintended consequences of minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Health Economics, 24(7), 822-839. Web.
Florida Department of Health. (2013). Regional perinatal intensive care centers handbook. Web.
Gadbois, E. A., Miller, E. A., Tyler, D., & Intrator, O. (2014). Trends in state regulation of nurse practitioners and physician assistants, 2001 to 2010. Medical Care Research and Review, 72(2), 200-219. Web.
Joint Commission. (2010). Health care staffing services performance measurement implementation guide, 2nd edition. Web.
Schwartz, S. A. (2016). American healthcare: A profile in shortages. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing, 12(3), 167-170. Web.