Home Health RN should Unionize and Strike

[Willow Moonsidhe]

I think all the RN's in HH should Unionize and Strike pending being treated like a human being and also being able to do continuity of care. The very thing Medicare thought they were creating they did away with by making it mandatory the Oasis be done by a RN assured the patient will only get to see the RN when those events occur. Kind of sad when you think about it. What do you guys think?

~Willow

[tewdles, RN]

Sounds like the company I worked for Willow...they told me crap to get me hired and then NOTHING was true about the actual job. I didn't mention that although I was responsible for a HUGE territory and 48 patients, on average 3 of my visits on any 8 visit day were not even MY patients. Discharges, and post hosps, and admissions outside of my service area were a regular diet for me.

I know that some nurses are very happy in HH...so there must be some good companies out there. I hope this is a good jump for you

[MindyTX]

RN's tend to become technicians if they work in hospitals for any period of time. We forget quickly that our primary responsibility is assessing care needs, developing a plan for the team to follow, supervision of the plan and evaluation of care. Medicare gave us the OASIS tool for assessment and planning. I agree it is over the top for an assessment tool however we have to do what is asked of the people who pay us. OASIS is primarily an outcome tool and yes it is tied to payment but it also helps us determine if we made a positive difference in the pt's functional abilities and disease management. We sure want to get paid or home health goes away. We don't have private donors, philanthropists or charities handing us money.

If you do not enjoy assessing, planning, goal setting and evaluation of care then maybe the RN role in home health is not for you. If you have unreasonable visit expectations and you are working until midnight on paperwork look for another agency. There are many ethical and professional home health agencies out there.

To get the goverment to make changes you write your senators and representatives. Our elderly Medicare pt's can also be a very loud voice for home health. I know many patients have told me they had less paperwork buying a house. Those are the pt's you ask to write letter in our behalf. Excessive paperwork in the healthcare field is also due to excessive law suits and CYA documentation. Write your state legislators and complain. Tort reform may stop the excess documentation requirements. Believe me they listen if enough folks write.