Nursing Ratios and Specialization Experience Linked to Better Long-Term Posttrauma and Postsurgical Outcomes

​Higher nursing ratios and greater facility experience with specialized patients are associated with better long-term outcomes among trauma and surgical patients transferred from hospitals to skilled-nursing facilities, according to a study in the January 2018 issue of JAMDA. The authors conducted a retrospective study of 389,133 patients admitted to 3,707 skilled-nursing facilities from 2007 through 2009. The authors measured ratio of beds per nurse as well as the proportion of trauma and surgical patients at each facility. Patient outcomes measured were one-year mortality, hospital readmission, and failure to discharge to home at first opportunity.