Staffing ratios in Houston hospitals?

[geekgolightly, BSN, RN]

I might be traveling back to Houston next year for my husband's continuing education (when is his education ever going to end??) and was curious about staffing ratios in various hospitals around houston. Would you mind telling me the name of hospital, if it's floor, progressive care, ICU and whether it's day or night shift?

In Kansas City, Truman Hospital tele unit staffs 5:1 for day shift with one tech for the entire floor of 23 patients, who are only allowed to take vitals and give baths (if you get a tech that day that is!), and they do not have a transportation team.

But at St. Luke's in KC, on an ortho floor we are staffed 4:1 and occasionally 5:1, with one PCT for every 8 patients, who are allowed to take out IVs, insert foleys, draw blood take vitals, do baths and there is a transport team. Big difference in how the day goes at St. Luke's compared to Truman.

I worked at M Herman on the neuro floor for a bit before I moved to KC, and it was staffed 6-7:1 with vents, trachs, not many techs who couldn't do much and really don't want to walk into a job like that again.

Thanks!

[hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN]

I work at Methodist Willowbrook (NW Houston) and here are the ratios:

mICU: 1:2

IMCU (tele/step down): 1:4, moving to 1:3 soon.

M/S: They aim for 1:4, but can be up to 1:6.

Note that we only have a mICU at current. We're moving to a new tower in two years and plan to take cvor patients at that time as well (perfect timing for my graduation!).

Hope this helps!