[2ndCareerRN]

Perhaps another readon to continue your education. At least at this hospital, LPN's are not immune from losing their jobs.

Layoffs announced at Sacred Heart

USA - Spokane's job market takes a big blow--more than 100 employees at Sacred Heart Medical Center are losing their jobs.

On the outside Sacred Heart is growing, with new buildings added in the last year.But on the inside, it's shrinking.Word Monday afternoon that the hospital will cut its workforce by about 6-percent.

"This is a difficult day for those of us at Sacred Heart Medical Center," said Skip Davis the CEO of Providence Health Care.With those words Davis announced that Sacred Heart Medical Center is cutting jobs.

The cutbacks affect 202 employees in all.The first to notice changes: service and support staff.Eight-six of those employees will see their jobs eliminated and another 28 will see a cut in their hours, between now and August 30th.

Licensed Practical Nurses are taking a hit too, with 88 LPNs being cut, effective October 31st of this year.

"We deeply regret the effect this will have on individuals and their families, they are making the ultimate sacrifice to help stabilize the medical center," said Davis.

One of the employees affected, LPN Francesca Bouke.Asked to leave the press conference outlining the cuts, a frustrated Bouke spoke to reporters outside."They don't realize LPN's are very well-educated, very good workers," she said.

But administrators say the layoffs, while painful, are necessary to close a $6 million budget gap brought on by an increasing demand for medical care, by the uninsured. And they say they'll work with employees like Francesca Bouke to see if they can fill other positions at Sacred Heart.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5728289/

43% of the layoffs are LPN's, not a pretty sight!!

bob



bob

[hipab4hands]

oh, oh. Here we go again. Everytime that the hospitals get in financial trouble, nursing personnel are the first to go. I'm surprised that they're letting go of LPN's, they cost the hospital less money in terms of pay.
The sad part of this is that the remaining nurses will have to take up the slack, causing them more work. Usually what happens is the remaining personnel get stressed out or overworked, then start quitting also.

[VivaLasViejas]

It's happening in lots of places, I think. We're going through the same thing where I work, and morale has plunged into the proverbial toilet. We recently stopped staffing by acuity and went to a matrix that does NOT take into account the difficulty some patients present......we all get pretty much the same number of patients, regardless of their status. Then they've cut CNAs to the bone........we often have only one, or two max, no matter how many post-ops or heavy patients there are on the floor. I'm on days, thank God, when there's more staff, but yesterday I had 3 fresh post-ops (and their frequent VS, orders etc.) plus a direct admit and a couple of discharges, PLUS I was covering orders for the LPN's four patients.

So, needless to say, there's a lot of grumbling, and a number of nurses are threatening to quit or have already turned in their two-week notices. It's hard to stay positive in the middle of all this, although I'm doing my best because at some point it will HAVE to change........patient care has already suffered big time, and our image in the community has gone from 'not too bad' to 'awful'. Forget back rubs and baths......patients are lucky if we can bring them an extra blanket and get their meds passed on time!

Actually, I think it's going to take a couple of high-profile lawsuits, like if some VIP dies due to lack of nursing care, to make TPTB wake up and smell the proverbial coffee......until then, they'll keep ignoring the impending crisis right under their noses, and nurses---not to mention PATIENTS---will continue to suffer.

It sucks. But I'm going to hang in there, because I think a backlash is coming and I want to be there when it does......it's just GOT to get better, because there's really nowhere to go but up.

Of course, I could be fooling myself, for sometimes I feel like a robin with one end of a 10-foot earthworm in its beak......a little nibble keeps me trying.

[91WhiskeyM6]

Well, that sucks! but I'm well prepared if that ever becomes true in my city. I can go back to being a Telemetry Tech, EKG Tech, Medical Records Technician, Medical Evaluation Assistant, Phlebotomist, Unit Clerk, or RHIT. I'm also just 4 classes away from getting a degree in computer science if I ever decide to finish that program or if the tech field ever comes back.

[fiestynurse]

They are making these cuts because of the "increasing demand for medical care from the uninsured" That's great rationale! Now, we have 88 unemployed and uninsured LVNs.

[barefootlady]

This facility will certainly feel the backlash from this action. 88 LVN/LPN's are still 88 nurses who have experience and knowledge to care for sick people. While a lot of facilities are building new buildings, buying new equiptment, and touting new programs, they are forgeting that there are still patients in beds that need care. RN's are expensive and often overburdened with "must do" paper work to meet government or facility policies. With the changes in overtime laws, many nurses will just say "no more" and switch to part-time or PRN status. Where will facilities be then? Such a sad day for nursing and patients is on the horizon. I worry about where this will all end. I hope each and every one of these LVN's finds a new job and lets this employer know they are not interested in returning to work for them when they are offered their jobs back "due to a change in plans." The sad part in this, one day we could be next, the ADN nurses, who have worked for years, but did not have the time or money to obtain our BSN. Before we feel like this will never happen, we need to remember, there is a nationwide nursing shortage but nurses are still having problems getting and keeping jobs. Most facilities are posting BSN perferred when they post a job, so this could be a warning that we are next on the way out of the door. Just a thought but a scary one.

[mattsmom81]

Not again! Seems like we learned a lesson in the 80's when the last mass layoff of LPN's occured, and the push was for a primary care/all RN staff. This is expensive and always ends up with the nurses taking higher patient ratios because there are less nurses used due to 'budget constraints.' The RN's burn out and leave. When will people learn?

[KacyLynnRN]

Last year, 260 people were laid off at my hospital. Some management and ALL of our techs/CNA's were let go. Unfortunately, I know if there are more lay-offs, I may be next in line since I am an LPN and only have 2 years seniority. That reason and wanting to work in different areas of the hospital have led me to go back to school. I'll finish my ASN in May of next year. Thank god.

[GoLytely]

Originally Posted by barefootlady

This facility will certainly feel the backlash from this action. 88 LVN/LPN's are still 88 nurses who have experience and knowledge to care for sick people. While a lot of facilities are building new buildings, buying new equiptment, and touting new programs, they are forgeting that there are still patients in beds that need care. RN's are expensive and often overburdened with "must do" paper work to meet government or facility policies. With the changes in overtime laws, many nurses will just say "no more" and switch to part-time or PRN status. Where will facilities be then? Such a sad day for nursing and patients is on the horizon. I worry about where this will all end. I hope each and every one of these LVN's finds a new job and lets this employer know they are not interested in returning to work for them when they are offered their jobs back "due to a change in plans." The sad part in this, one day we could be next, the ADN nurses, who have worked for years, but did not have the time or money to obtain our BSN. Before we feel like this will never happen, we need to remember, there is a nationwide nursing shortage but nurses are still having problems getting and keeping jobs. Most facilities are posting BSN perferred when they post a job, so this could be a warning that we are next on the way out of the door. Just a thought but a scary one.

I've already heard rumors the illuminati of the nursing world are thinikng in terms of bumping LPN's down to CNA status while bumping ADN's down to LPN status...kind of scary to think about.

I was listening to a nurse the other day complaining (and she had every reason to) that the nursing shortage is a farce and the schools graduate plenty of nurses, it's just that not many of them can stand to stay in the profession very long, which might be true.

I also don't think that the sacrificing is being done by the administration, only in that they are sacrificing the nursing staff to ensure their overinflated lifestyles don't take a blow. We all know it's about money.

[NRSKarenRN]

Originally Posted by LPNtoRN

I've already heard rumors the illuminati of the nursing world are thinikng in terms of bumping LPN's down to CNA status while bumping ADN's down to LPN status...kind of scary to think about.

Once you are state licensed, as long as you pay licensing fees and meet renewel requirements, your maintain that license. However, educational levels may change but you would be grandfathered in due to current license.

Academics have discussed INCREASING education levels to RAISE STANDARDS : requiring ADN degree for LPN licensure and Diploma/BSN for RN's.