New JCAHO staffing standards: you may be surprised at what you need to do.

As of July 1, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations will require you to assess staffing by using specific indicators based on clinical/service and human resource outcomes. Your ED must have sufficient numbers of qualified staff to care for patients, including direct and indirect caregivers. Nurses must have the required skills to care the for patients they are assigned to. If data reveal inadequate staffing, you must take appropriate action to correct this.