Impact Of Nurse Unionization On Fiscal Viability And Selected Measures Of Quality In Hospitals
ABSTRACT
Seventy-three New York hospitals were examined to determine if a difference existed between hospitals with nursing unions versus those without as it pertains to fiscal viability and quality of care. Several financial variables were used to construct a fiscal viability index; and a quality index was created from selected mortality and procedural measures that may be used to measure specific aspects of institutional care. The premise that the union status of a hospital’s nursing staff will influence fiscal viability and quality is based on the impact that unionization may have on staffing and cost per patient. The literature is replete with studies that assess the relationship between nurse staffing levels and quality. In some cases there is a clear and compelling relationship, but in others, it is indeterminate. Utilizing union status, selected employee variables, and financial and quality of care indices, four statistical models were prepared to explain these the interaction of these variables
INTRODUCTION
the purpose of this study was to examine what, if any, the impact of union status has on the fiscal viability and quality of hospital care. The relationship, in both cases, is obfuscated by the confounding influence that unionization often brings to a healthcare organization. Unionization doesn’t directly influence either quality or financial viability, but has the potential to influence several factors that might, in turn, influence both. The most notable of these influences pertains to nurse-to-patient staffing ratios. Copious research exists on the relationship between nurse staffing levels and quality (Needleman, 2002; Kovner, 2002), and it would stand to reason that unions would seek higher staffing ratios to improve quality and to reduce the burden of low staffing. This is not to say that hospital administrations are unfamiliar with the need to staff properly, but financial factors often encumber their decision making. Staffing comprises a significant proportion of institutional health care costs and if unionization results in higher staffing ratios, without offsetting cost reductions, overall costs will increase.
In general terms fiscal viability and the quality of institutional care are measures that take time to evolve. In this research we make a one year observation, seeking to establish whether a correlation that may have evolved over time, is now manifest. The questions posed by this research are complex, i.e., If union status results in higher nurse- to-patient ratios what is the fiscal impact on the organization? What is the impact of higher union wages and benefits on the ability of hospitals to achieve what the literature defines as desirable staffing ratios for quality? And if the staffing levels cannot be achieved, what is the impact on quality