2026 Will Reshape Nurse Staffing. Here’s How ARMStaffing Is Leading the Way
In October 2025, the Joint Commission elevated nurse staffing to a National Performance Goal (NPG) — a formal, measurable standard tied to hospital quality and patient safety. The American Nurses Association (ANA) hailed it as a “defining moment,” and rightly so. This marks a major shift: staffing is no longer just operational; it’s a core quality concern.
What’s Changing in 2026
Starting January 1, 2026, the Joint Commission will replace its National Patient Safety Goals with National Performance Goals, emphasizing governance, outcomes, and structural quality.
National Performance Goal 12 will require hospitals to:
- Establish formal staffing policies
- Assign oversight to a nurse executive
- Ensure 24/7 RN coverage in Critical Access Hospitals
- Use staffing data for continuous improvement
- Align staffing with patient acuity and complexity
For hospitals, this transforms staffing from a scheduling task into a strategic, governance-level function. For staffing agencies, it raises expectations for compliance, flexibility, and accountability.
ARMStaffing’s Commitment
As a staffing partner to hospitals nationwide, ARMStaffing is evolving to meet these new standards through:
- Data-driven staffing tools
- Credentialing and compliance excellence
- Governance-level collaboration
- Surge capacity and flexibility
- Advocacy for safe staffing practices
This commitment builds on a recent milestone: ARMStaffing was proudly recertified by The Joint Commission, reinforcing our dedication to quality and compliance. Read more in our ARMS News blog.
A Voice from Our Leadership
This shift in national standards aligns with ARMStaffing’s long-standing approach to treating staffing as a quality concern, not just a logistics issue. As Deb Otto, our Senior Director of Operations and leader of our Joint Commission certification efforts, puts it:
“For years, staffing has been treated as a logistics problem, but this recognition by the Joint Commission affirms what we’ve always known: staffing is a quality issue. It directly impacts patient safety, nurse well-being, and organizational resilience. At ARMStaffing, we’ve built our operations to reflect that mindset, and this new standard validates the work our teams do every day to support both nurses and facilities with integrity, compliance, and care.”
Looking Ahead
The Joint Commission’s new National Performance Goals, especially the inclusion of nurse staffing, represent not just a policy change but a mindset shift. For hospitals, for nurses, and for staffing partners, it’s a call to align staffing practices with the highest standards of care and accountability.
At ARMStaffing, we welcome this challenge. We are committed to helping our clients not just meet the new standards but lead with them.