Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 441 § 441.776 — Hospital service staffing committee

Hospital service staffing committee. (1)(a) For each hospital there shall be established a hospital service staffing committee. A hospital service staffing committee shall consist of an equal number of service staff managers and service staff who work at the hospital. (b) If the service staff who work at the hospital have an exclusive representative, the exclusive representative shall select the service staff members of the hospital service staffing committee. (c) If none of the service staff who work at the hospital have an exclusive representative, the service staff managers shall select the service staff members of the hospital service staffing committee. (2) A hospital service staffing committee shall develop a written hospital-wide hospital service staffing plan in accordance with subsection (5) of this section. The committee shall review and modify the staffing plan as needed in accordance with this section. (3) A majority of the members of the hospital service staffing committee constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. (4) A hospital service staffing committee must have two cochairs. One cochair shall be a service staff manager elected by the members of the committee who are service staff managers. The other cochair shall be a service staff person elected by the members of the committee who are service staff. (5) A hospital service staffing committee shall develop a hospital service staffing plan that is consistent with the approved nurse staffing plan for the hospital and that takes into account the professional and technical staffing plan for the hospital developed under ORS 441.775. The committee shall consider the following criteria in developing the staffing plan: (a) The hospital’s census; (b) Location of the patients; (c) Patient types and patient acuity; (d) National standards, if any; (e) The size of the hospital and square footage of the hospital; (f) Ensuring patient access to care; and (g) Feedback received during committee meetings from staff. (6)(a) A hospital service staffing committee must adopt a hospital service staffing plan by a majority vote of the members of the committee. If a quorum of members present at a meeting comprises an unequal number of service staff and service staff managers, only an equal number of staff and managers may vote. A staffing plan adopted by the committee must include a summary of the committee’s consideration of the criteria in subsection (5) of this section and how the plan: (A) Is consistent with the approved nurse staffing plan for the hospital; and (B) Takes into account the professional and technical staffing plan for the hospital that was developed in accordance with ORS 441.775. (b) If the hospital service staffing committee does not adopt a hospital service staffing plan or adopts only a part of the staffing plan, either cochair may invoke the commencement of a 60-day period during which the committee shall continue to develop the staffing plan. If, by the end of the 60-day period, the committee does not adopt a staffing plan or adopts only part of a staffing plan, the committee shall submit the disputed plan or parts of the plan, as applicable, including a summary of the committee’s consideration of the criteria in subsection (5) of this section, to the chief executive officer of the hospital. No later than 60 days after receiving the submission from the committee, the chief executive officer or the chief executive officer’s designee shall decide the disputed plan or parts of the plan, as applicable, considering the summary of the committee’s consideration of the criteria in subsection (5) of this section, and adopt the staffing plan or parts of the staffing plan that were not adopted by the committee. The chief executive officer or the chief executive officer’s designee shall provide to the committee: (A) A written explanation of the staffing plan or the parts of the staffing plan that were in dispute; (B) The final written proposals of the members of the committee and the members’ rationales for their proposals and the committee’s summary of the committee’s consideration of the criteria in subsection (5) of this section; and (C) A summary of the consideration by the chief executive officer or the chief executive officer’s designee of the criteria in subsection (5) of this section. (c) If the hospital service staffing committee is unable to reach an agreement on the hospital service staffing plan during the 60-day period invoked under paragraph (b) of this subsection, the members of the committee may extend deliberations for one additional 60-day period before the disputed plan or parts of the plan must be submitted to the chief executive officer or the chief executive officer’s designee in accordance with paragraph (b) of this subsection. The deliberations may be extended under this paragraph only by a majority vote of the members of the committee. If a quorum