Bed Census Predictions and Nurse Staffing

Aleida Braaksma*, Nikky Kortbeek, Richard J. Boucherie

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Workloads in nursing wards depend highly on patient arrivals and lengths of stay, both of which are inherently variable. Predicting these workloads and staffing nurses accordingly are essential for guaranteeing quality of care in a cost-effective manner. This chapter describes a stochastic method that uses hourly census predictions to derive efficient nurse staffing policies. The generic analytic approach minimizes staffing levels while satisfying so-called nurse-to-patient ratios. In particular, we explore the potential of flexible staffing policies that allow hospitals to dynamically respond to their fluctuating patient population by employing float nurses. The method is applied to a case study of the surgical inpatient clinic of the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam (AMC).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHandbook of Healthcare Logistics
Subtitle of host publicationBridging the Gap between Theory and Practice
EditorsMaartje E. Zonderland, Richard J. Boucherie, Erwin W. Hans, Nikky Kortbeek
Place of PublicationCham
PublisherSpringer
Chapter9
Pages151-180
Number of pages30
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-030-60212-3
ISBN (Print)978-3-030-60211-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Mar 2021

Publication series

NameInternational Series in Operations Research and Management Science
Volume302
ISSN (Print)0884-8289
ISSN (Electronic)2214-7934

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