Telling "STATE" you don't have supplies....

[nervousnurse, ASN]

Hi, I've only been in LTC/SNF 7 months, and thank GOODNESS, I was off when STATE was there.....I am hearing horror stories!

One of my friends "got in trouble" from our DON because she told an inspector she was out of a certain supply........UMM--that's just the TRUTH!!!! What ELSE could she have said. She HAD to cover herself, and explain WHY she absolutely could NOT perform a simple procedure. Most importantly, if the vulnerable resident could have been at risk because of the lack of supplies, WHAT choice did she have but to tell the State person there weren't any?!?!!

How do the "suits" where you work handle it when they find out you told a State Surveyor the truth about something negative such as not having a supply???

**Oh, and slightly off topic, but it made me LOL that they suddenly had all of our housekeeping staff help us pass trays----seriously???? Like State is going to believe this happens ALL THE TIME? I like what someone else said about this on another thread--yes, even our secretary helps pass trays.....our teamwork is THAT good, every day....(don't we WISH!)

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

How do the suits handle it?

Sadly, the truth is, They will usually find a way to fire the whistle blower.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Did you tell the managers you had no supplies or did you expect them to read your mind? I run a large facility. There is no way I would know if we were short supplies unless someone told me. You need to take some responsibility.

[amoLucia]

Did you tell the managers you had no supplies or did you expect them to read your mind? I run a large facility. There is no way I would know if we were short supplies unless someone told me. You need to take some responsibility.

So true! I've said this before in another post somewhere that nurses need to go thru the right chain to get supplies. It's everybody's job...not somebody else, not anybody else, not nobody...but everybody.

But back to OP's post - there may well be repercussions for nurses who whistle blow. it is a very well polished, well honed, and very subtle maneuver that top mgt can do. It's sad that some nurses mistakenly & naively think they're being noble and so advocating when they have the State's ear.

There could have been a better way for that nurse to have covered the problem.

And just FYI - surveyors are not DUMB. They know that housekeeping does not routinely help to pass trays. They know that the faux façade is for their benefit. They're not being fooled!

[danceyrun]

Just out of curiosity, what would a better response have been? I'm wondering because I am a student and haven't dealt with "suits."

[morte, LPN, LVN]

I work in a small place, and even we have a "stock" person. that person is responsible for making sure supplies are there. Now.... that being said, if there is a new/different thing needed, SOMEONE has to tell that person.

Did you tell the managers you had no supplies or did you expect them to read your mind? I run a large facility. There is no way I would know if we were short supplies unless someone told me. You need to take some responsibility.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

I've worked in lots of different buildings. In one of them, tray pass was "all hands on deck". We all, from the CNAs to the nurse managers to the Administrator helped to pass trays. The DPH thought when they saw us all out passing trays it was for show, until they realized how organized it was. One of them came over to me and said "You all really do this every day, don't you." Yes I told her. That was the only tray pass they watched.

[pinkiepieRN]

I work in a small place, and even we have a "stock" person. that person is responsible for making sure supplies are there. Now.... that being said, if there is a new/different thing needed, SOMEONE has to tell that person.

Ugh. We have a person whose job is staffing and supplies. She's awful at both. I've yet to figure out if there's anyway for me as a shift supervisor to order supplies myself to circumvent her! I'll talk to her to see if I can help, because last week we seriously couldn't find any XXL diapers in the facility. We've gone without all dressing supplies aside from tape and 4x4's while she was on vacation!

[pinkiepieRN]

I've worked in lots of different buildings. In one of them, tray pass was "all hands on deck". We all, from the CNAs to the nurse managers to the Administrator helped to pass trays. The DPH thought when they saw us all out passing trays it was for show, until they realized how organized it was. One of them came over to me and said "You all really do this every day, don't you." Yes I told her. That was the only tray pass they watched.

In our facility, activities, the Administrator and the unit managers all are present for lunch. There's less staff in the DR for breakfast and dinner, but the GNAs are assigned the dining room by a rotation schedule for lunch and dinner.

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Ugh. We have a person whose job is staffing and supplies. She's awful at both. I've yet to figure out if there's anyway for me as a shift supervisor to order supplies myself to circumvent her! I'll talk to her to see if I can help, because last week we seriously couldn't find any XXL diapers in the facility. We've gone without all dressing supplies aside from tape and 4x4's while she was on vacation!

Not picking on you personally, just using this post as an example. What did you actually DO about it. It's completely unacceptable to go without needed supplies for a week. As a DON, I would have called a sister facility or went to Walgreens for immediate needs & would have been on the phone with supplier for an ASAP delivery.....but only if someone actually told me there was a problem rather than everyone just grumbling at the nurses station.

Honestly, I would be highly ticked off if staff was throwing US] under the bus during a survey. This isn't about making the "suits" look bad, it makes all of us look bad.

[RNfaster]

I worked at a LTC where staff would be fussed at for using the facility's supplies when the hospice provider for the hospice patient we had requested supplies for weeks ago continued to fail to deliver supplies. Shameful all around as I see it. I noted the good hospice outfits and the ones that were not responsive to their patient's needs and have not forgotten. I would not be surprised if the staff member had requested the supplies weeks prior and had failed to receive them.

Also, some other things that cause me to doubt LTC mgmt --The management at the above facility placed staff on the roster that were no longer with the facility in effort to look like we were fully staffed. --A more experienced worker told me when I asked why folks that had been fired, quit, or were on vacation were listed as though they were coming in (they did this on several days).

I got out of long-term care as fast as I could. I observed some shameful practices there. It was only one facility. I know there are some good facilities out there.

[nervousnurse, ASN]

Cape Cod Mermaid....just to clarify, it was not ME who this happened to, and you're correct about taking responsibility. I suppose my friend could have made SURE she had enough of this one particular item BEFORE she started her shift, and asked around to everyone else if they knew where there might be some (Trust me, there were NOT any in our Central Supply where they should've been!!)

Yes, taking responsibility and planning ahead are good; however, please understand--- at my facility, we can go DAYS without many supplies---!!! Many of us are constantly buying certain treatment items on our own time and bringing them in...saline, dressings, ointments, etc....

If I know I'm doing treatments tomorrow and there are absolutely no 4 X 4's in the facility.....isn't it pathetic that we go to the store to buy them ourselves? YES!

Annnd, this is just ONE reason why I will no longer be working there.