Winning a star
The cheapest path across a band — and why RN hours count twice.
The hook
#🚀 The climb
Maple Grove needs 40 points to reach 2★. The question is never "add nurses" — it’s "add which nurses, where, for the fewest dollars."
#The real idea
Points come from moving any of the six measures into a higher lane. Three levers make the climb cheap:
- RN hours count in two measures at once — every RN hour is also a "total nurse" hour, so RN shifts fill the RN HPRD and total HPRD buckets simultaneously.
- Weekend coverage is its own measure, and most facilities staff down on weekends — so they sit low in that lane and a little weekend coverage jumps multiple point-steps. Best points-per-dollar on hours.
- Turnover retention (Page 7) is often the cheapest of all — a shift or two protects a turnover point with no new hire.
And you must sustain it across the whole quarter — PBJ counts the full reporting period, so a one-week bump does nothing, and the new star shows up a quarter or two later.
#🍁 Maple Grove example
The full plan — 40 points to 2★
40 points from 2★. Walking the cheapest crossings:
Weekend HPRD 2.50 → 3.05 : +15 (weekend lane jump)
RN HPRD 0.42 → 0.50 : +10 (RN lane; also helps total)
Total HPRD 3.30 → 3.55 : +10 (total lane)
Total turnover 58% → 49% : +15 (retention save, ~1–2 shifts)
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even a subset of these clears 155 → 2★Notice the turnover save (+15) costs a shift or two, while the same points bought as raw new hours cost far more — cheapest path ≠ most hours.
#Remember this
RN hours = two buckets. Weekend = cheap lane. Retention = cheapest of all. Sustain it a full quarter.
#Try it 👉
One regular shift = +5 (total only). One RN shift = +5 total and +5 RN. To gain +30, how many RN shifts?