nursess salaries are "cash vacuums"

[oramar]

There is an article on HealthLeaders called 'Hospitals, Selling your Facility.' The person being interview is called Jim Grobmyer, one of those much hated consultants. He refers to nurses as CASH VACUUMS. I would like to give him a good vacuumcleaning.

[ERNurse752, RN]

I'll hold him down while you do it...and then you can hold him down while I get my turn...

Here's the link to the article:

http://www.healthleaders.com/magazine/feature1.php?contentid=28591

Tighten staffing, huh? How much tighter could it possibly get??!!

I have a great idea...how about we just let the pts take care of each other in the hospital? Now *that* is cost-effective...

Ahhhhh...the business of healthcare...

(I wish there were a smiley picture of a smiley gagging...)

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

this article dealt with a hospital/healthcare facility preparing for a sale or long-term lease during the "due-dillegence" period of 6-9 months.

free up cash

reducing staff and inventory costs, a hospital's biggest cash vacuums, will also add money to the till. tighten staffing patterns and make daily adjustments to cover people who are out sick or on vacation, advises woodrum, since "perfection is never having too many or too little." inventory should also be reduced. "you want as little of your money as possible tied up in supplies during due diligence," says woodrum, who suggests focusing on "just-in-time inventory," by keeping no extra supplies on the premises and receiving daily or weekly deliveries from vendors.

translation: middle level managers and nurse educators will be dismissed. you will have minimal staffing, be unable to take lunch/bathroom break, nor have enough supplies when the flu season or other sudden influex of patients occurs. ceo's excessive salary will remain untouched.

communicate with staff

control rumors by having a communications plan ready for physicians, staff and the community. "once you announce a potential sale, employment recruitment and retention issues will immediately hit the fan," says grobmyer. determine how you plan to retain key employees such as intensive-care nurses who are in high demand. if hospitals don't address employees directly, some good people will be lost because of the stress and instability, he warns.

translation: other hospitals have already lured physicans to work at their facilities leaving minimal doctors at your place or ones that are frustrated with the current healthcare system and lash out at the nursing staff for minor inconveniences.

address all liabilities

for example, says grobmyer, decide how to address red-flag areas such as high numbers of malpractice insurance claims. also, be aware of how much sick leave and vacation time has been allotted to employees. "if i am a buyer," he asks, "do i really want to buy a hospital that has a $10 million potential liability for sick leave?"

translation: your staff have been given too much sick time. staff nurses have reported to work when sick due to minimal staffing and making patient needs their priority. ..... take the day off when you are sick, rather than coming in, for your banked sick time is now considered a liability and went "poof" overnight with the buyout.

translation: this facility failed to listen to its nurses and nursing management over the past few years and now is on the chopping block, never again to be the warm caring place you enjoyed to work in over the past few years.

recomendation: doccument your concerns to management giving specific examples and ways to improve care. have letter writing campaign so that nurses are represented in upper level management decisions and are on the boards of directors of your facilities.

[Mijourney]

Hi. Another recommendation: more nurses as healthcare consultants. Nurses with a good number of years of clinical experience at that.

I have a strong bias in favor of nurses especially but even other frontline professionals who have worked directly with patient and families for years as well as with doctors, administration, and other staff to be in positions as planners and strategists.

People that are sole business or accounting majors can play a valid and useful role, but when it comes to planning for the intimate needs of people-body, mind, and spirit, there's nothing like a good, caring, committed nurse. This nurse not only needs to know his/her business but also needs to still be active among the community so that they can stay grounded in their strategic planning. Satisfaction surveys should not be the main tool used to do that.