[Angie O'Plasty, RN]

Originally Posted by ICURN_NC

On page 4 of the lawsuit, it states that the understaffing of RN's "harms no one but the patient." However, I think it really harms the nurses, nurse's aids, phlebotomy, etc- anyone involved in pt care- as well as the pt.

My heart really goes out to that family and all the nurses who have to work like this.

(As a side note, how do you die in "critical care" and not be noticed for an hour? I always thought critical care=cardiac monitor.)

Maybe patient had a pacer?

[Undecided7]

That and you are assuming they staff enough people to WATCH the monitors. HCA has been known to give 4 ICU patients to one nurse if they are short-staffed (which is often in my area). It's very easy to understand how the nurse could be busy for an hour with her 2-3 OTHER critical patients in other rooms.

[ICURN_NC]

Good point, guys.... I just couldn't figure it out at first. We get 2 pts, and I know that if I'm tied up with 1, we have the staff so that someone else will intervene if there is a problem with my other pt.

I'd never heard of the company (HCA) before reading many posts on this site, and this company just scares me. There are days I may feel shafted @ work (for a variety of reasons), but it's never like what nurses describe working for an HCA hospital.

*shivers*

[millkay]

Do your ICU's have a unit clerk/monitor tech? I worked in a unit that had great techs, then our new director got rid of them, stating that nurses across the country don't use anyone to help watch monitors. Very little got past our techs- they caught suddle things that only someone specifically assigned to looking would notice. this scenario made me think of that situation. A monitor tech would have come in handy.

[ICURN_NC]

We have no monitor tech, but we (usually) have a unit clerk. However, I was a unit clerk in the unit before I was a nurse and was told very clearly that I was to have nothing to do with the monitors.

As nurses, however, we always try to make sure there is at least 1 rn not in a pt's room to listen for the monitor, alarming vents, beeping IV pumps, etc. It's by no means a perfect system, but we can usually make it work out.

[Indy]

HCA is well known in my state for just those problems, and I believe the company had some record fines for medicare fraud a while back too. On a side note, I noticed lately that it's a rare week when someone doesn't ask me how many patients I have that night. One fella not only asked me how many I had, but would I be admitting any more and were they okay or did they require me to be in the room all the time? His way of gauging if I was gonna be available or not, I guess. It's kinda nice to have the public looking at that issue!

[HARRN2b]

It is all about big business and how much money they can make. It is capitalism at its finest. Sure, companies have to make a profit to stay in business, but corporate greed in America is completely out of control (look at the profits of the oil companies). Do you really think their is an oil shortage. I actually did....until I saw the profits. It is all about the bottom line.

[HARRN2b]

I now am wondering if there is a "real" nursing shortage. Could this be corporate america not wanting to hire (and pay) nurses. Everyone talks about nursing be a calling, but I can assure you healthcare is not a calling for ceo's.

[SmilingBluEyes]

I think there is a shortage, however, I think the reasons why may be more complicated than simple numbers can convey.

[mdfog10]

Re monitors. I think I remember that one charge in the King Drew nightmare in LA, was that Nurses had turned off the monitors.