[pensacola_LPN]

The hurricane is slated to arive 2-6 pm on Sunday. THe DON threatened the entire Nursing staff today saying that anyone who does not adhere to the new schedule (coming out tomorrow) will be fired!

Let me tell you what this new schedule entails - ALL nursing staff will come in on Sunday. Those that are scheduled to work Sunday will work. Everyone else will RELAX until their shift comes due (in my case more than 24 hours later).

This LTC locked us in the facility for 48+ hours during and after Hurricane Ivan 10 months ago!

I have 32 years experience as an LPN and I understand what quality of care means to my patients. But I do not like being threatened with my license and I do not like being incarcerated!

More importantly, I do not like the idea that this LTC facility is staying regardless of Dennis being a Category 3 or 4 hurricane. We are less than 1 mile from the Pensacola Bay.

The management and the DON and ADON are threatening the staff. They are putting their patients at RISK.

Then they wonder why people are quitting.
I need that great American dream - health insurance - so I can't quit.

[SMK1]

no advice except to ask if an annoymous phone call to the state about locking the staff in could be made. That has to be illegal!?

[land64shark]

See now this kind of thing scares me as I'm on the Gulf coast of Florida myself. I'm just a future nurse, but this makes me think twice (and three times) about the kind of places I may want to end up working. I understand that hospitals and LTC facilities work 24/7, but I can't imagine being away from my kids during a dangerous hurricane. Holidays are one thing, but real physical danger is another and I'm going to be with them. Knowing this and also I'm not the type to leave my employer in a lurch, I may need to seek employment at a lower paying office or day surgery center.

As for being one mile from the bay, won't you be FORCED to evacuate when/if the time comes?

I know, this doesn't help you any. I would be pretty irate too.

[Faeriewand]

Please check with local law enforcement. I beleive locking someone inside constitutes false imrisonment. My mother works in home care and sometime families, to keep their elder parent from walking away, will lock the front door. Police have come and informed the family that that is illeagal and it is false imprisonment to the home health aid who is working there at the time.

[medsurgnurse]

If your facility is on the Bay they need to be EVACUATING the facility now. But they won't until forced by local Emergency Mangement. Same stuff happens the rest of your Gulf Coast neighbors, but last year they low lying and coastal NH started evacuating residents.

[Jessy_RN]

Wow, what about the nurses family back home? Does she stay locked in the hospital while her loved ones are hopefully safe back home? What if the storm is so bad that you can't get back home easily afterward? Oh my, it is scary to think about this situation

[Nurse Ratched]

I'm not sure that "bite me" would adequately convey the message to management if they attempted to pull this on me, but it's the best I can do and still be within TOS .

[Tweety]

Good luck to you. Being held prisoner would seem to violate the constitution. Sorry. I hope it all works our and everyone is safe.

I live on the gulf coast as well. We had so many people call in or now show last year, it was getting dangerous. This year they announced a "no tolerance policy" to no shows and call ins. I'm not trying to think of it as a threat. My schedule is the same as yours, show up for work and plan on staying. Show up early and wait for your shift to begin if your shift is scheduled to start after the hurricane. But we won't be locked in and as free American citazens we leave any time (of course there is the abandonment issue if we have a patient assignment.)

We have a community to serve. Granted our own life and welfare of loved ones comes first. But we know well in advance there's a hurricane out there, we are to get to work safely well in advance of the hurricane arriving and be there during the duration. I know this. Now I can choose to cooperate with the expectations of my job or quit now. My choice. I need to plan now what to do with the family and how to protect my property.

Jessica, again we have days to plan what to do with the family. There are shelters all over town for those in evacation zones, etc. If plans for the family can't be made, or you're single without anyone to care for your kids, here you can bring them to work where they'll be safe. Planning is the key. So one is saying "leave your family in danger and come to work". If your home is not safe..........get out.

[CHATSDALE]

if you are expecting a babysitter to be there for your children forget it...take them with you . they will not have power at home..at least the facility will have generators and you can get food and a/c . if they object to family members at hospital then decide that yo will have to look for something else after 'caine
forgive me for being mercenary but are you paid while you are waiting around for your shift to begin?

[kbclary4]

You need to call the state, local law enforcement and emergency management ASAP. Just check on the legality of this. If nothing else, the local law enforcement and emergency management need to be aware that there are tons of people locked in a facility in case they need to get to you to deliver aid. They need to know what they are dealing with, as I am sure they will only plan on giving aid to the number of people who are normally in the facility and will not arrive equipped to deal with extra people.
Also, I agree with the poster above me. If it turns out this is legal, I would demand time-and-a-half, double-time, overtime (or whatever it is that pays more) for every minute you are required to be in that facility. Good luck and I'll be praying for everyone's safety.