Q for nurses who get paid per visit/admission

Specialties Home Health

Published

Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

As a casual nurse, I get paid $65 per admission. Now they want to grow their business and send me trekking 60 miles each way to admit one patient. Between the hour plus drive each way, the time for the visit, the time for the paperwork , I'm looking at around 6 hours. Broken down hourly, that's just over 10 bucks an hour.

Am I unreasonable to ask for an adjustment in compensation for visits where the drive takes over an hour each way? I hope not because I did just that. I asked my director to use her discretion to make an upward adjustment that made sense. She wasn't very amenable to my request. She asked me if I would take the assignment anyway and I agreed with the caveat that I might not take a similar assignment in the future unless compensation was reasonable. It was pretty gutsy if not reckless of me to speak my mind but I'm old and my mouth sometimes moves faster than my brain. Truly, the older I get, the bolder I get. Let's just call it being direct.

So how do your agencies pay you for lengthy admissions?

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I don't do admissions, but 60 miles is 60 miles. Can you imagine being the nurses assigned to do the visits? She should have made an exception for this. I don't think you were out of line in being direct. And I agree with you that you should not agree to do this again. She now knows what you think about it. You should ask to borrow her car for the trip. I'm certain you would get a very direct response.

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Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA).

I am salaried FT but on weekends or oncall we get $70 per admission visit and mileage to and from the visit ( at 50.5 cents a mile - the IRS rate). Do you get any reimbursement for mileage? That does help out some.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
I am salaried FT but on weekends or oncall we get $70 per admission visit and mileage to and from the visit ( at 50.5 cents a mile - the IRS rate). Do you get any reimbursement for mileage? That does help out some.

Oh sure, we do get a mileage reimbursement 41 cents a mile. Yes, the mileage is part of the deal.

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Specializes in med-surg,ltc,home health.

I hear you about getting older and wiser. ;) You were definitely not wrong to speak up for more money. If more would do so they would have to compensate fairly for such a long amount of time required for an admission.

We get 70 dollars for an admission. I am salaried so that is if I do it on the weekend when I am on call. I have not come across an admission that far away but I would speak up and ask for more like you did, if I did.

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

We are given "double visit" time/compensation for anything that far away. I'm not sure jsut what the mileage limit is for this, but I'm quite sure 60 miles would fall into that category. Will have to inquire again tomorrow, but yes.. you should be compensated better for this!

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

Thanks everyone for your input. The weather was pretty awful for the long drive I had today. Wind gusts of 50 mph with temps in the 20's with steady winds above 20mph. It was 1.5 hrs each way of both hands on the wheel.

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My thought is if you don't speak up, you are doing a great injustice to yourself and those who follow you. Is your time worth more that 10 bucks an hour? Agencies are able to negotiate when it is an exception. Speak up...LOUD AND CLEAR. You ARE worth more than 10 bucks.

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Specializes in Home Health and ER.

I would hate to think that you are being taken advantage of. We get $80. for an admission visit. I have done those off the wall distances, and I make it very clear that I am not following this case, not discharging this patient at the end of the case, and expect to be compensated with a predetermined rate BEFORE I go and do the admission. It is always amazing to me how rates can be adjusted if they really want the case opened. Your time is valuable, and so is your expertise, you dont have to give it away. Take care.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

We got a $25 bonus for visits over 25 miles round trip. Every single field nurse quit within a month of going per visit.

The owner realized that per visit does not adequately compensate the nurses and since the nurses who were abusing the per hour rate quit, she went back to hourly and called to ask me to come back. Honesty Pays ;)

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