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B -- STUDY TO EXAMINE NURSE STAFFING AND QUALITY OF CARE IN HOSPITALS SOL HRSA 230-BHPr-6(9) POC Jan Leahey, Contract Specialist; 301.443.2583 E-MAIL: Health Resources and Services Administration, jleahey@hrsa.dhhs.gov. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has a two-phased requirement to initiate a study that calls for the identification, review, and assessment of databases available on nurse staffing and patient care outcomes in acute-care hospitals and the development of the design and analysis to provide baseline data, generalizable nationally, on nurse staffing in relation to the quality of care in hospitals. HRSA is soliciting offerors on a full and open basis. Recent changes within the health care system have had a particular effect on hospitals with the result that hospitals have merged, consolidated their services, and restructured their delivery of care. Questions have been raised about the effects of modifications in nurse staffing levels and the mix of nursing personnel used within these staffing levels on the quality of patient care. This study is being initiated to respond to multiple concerns within the HHS. Four agencies within the Department, the HRSA, Division of Nursing (DN), the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), and the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) are sponsoring this study to obtain baseline data on nurse staffing in relation to the quality of patient care. The work shall be performed in two phases over approximately a fourteen-month period as follows: Phase I, shall include the review and assessment of data bases available for use in the study and the development of the study design; Phase II, contingent upon approval of the study design, shall provide the analysis and recommendations arising out of the study findings. All requests for the solicitation should be submitted in writing to Ms. Leahey's attention, at the aforementioned address, or via facsimile (301) 443-6038; citing Request for Proposal (RFP) HRSA 230-BHPr-6(9). The solicitation document will be available approximately 15 days from publication of this notice and close approximately 30 days from the date of issuance. Posted 01/20/99 (W-SN289443). (0020)

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