Hospitals Pay A Price For Nurses Strikes

Register Today!

  1. This is a discussion on Hospitals Pay A Price For Nurses Strikes in Nursing News, part of General Nursing ... Hospitals across the country have been rocked by nursing strikes over the last year. The coming...

    by Dec 12, '11
    Hospitals across the country have been rocked by nursing strikes over the last year. The coming months show no letup, which means that hospitals will continue to face major disruptions, both financial and otherwise.

    http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com...ursing-strikes
    Read Online


    Print and share with friends and family.
    Compliments of allnurses.com.
    http://allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=652837

    by DoGoodThenGo Dec 12, '11 4:31 am
    ©2013 allnurses.com INC. All Rights Reserved.
    lindarn likes this.
  2. 1,993 Views
    Click Tags to Find Similar Topics

  3. 8 Comments so far...

  4. Dec 12, '11 by
    Darn straight it's about patient safety, professor!
    LockportRN, Purple_Scrubs, Esme12, and 4 others like this.
  5. Dec 12, '11 by
    If patients really new what a registered nurses job entailed, they would be appalled and totally support strikes. It is their health that is being compromised when the hospitals cut back on nurses! Until the public understands and demands to be treated the way we as nurses know they should be treated, nothing will change.*
    IowaKaren, LockportRN, Purple_Scrubs, and 5 others like this.
  6. Dec 12, '11 by
    I won't be breaking out the violins for the hospitals anytime soon. These hospital systems are making money hand over fist- the profit is never realized because they are shelling it out to the CEO's and top managment in lucrative over inflated salaries, bene, bonuses and thier own pensions. Just think what 1 hospital could do if it didn't have a CEO salary in the millions, with a performance bonus- another few million and a $12,000- $13,000/MONTH pension to pay out. They might be able to hire afew more nurses and cast the Suter group"customer service crapola" gabage by the wayside. The patient's might actually get their call bells answered, the correct medication and on time and clean linen and a bath, someone may even be able to have time to feed them if they can't feed themselves or at least figure out if they can feed themself, charting might get done accurately and descriptively- Good Lord, that sounds alot like nursing!!!
    IowaKaren, Streamline2010, Rodoon, and 10 others like this.
  7. Dec 13, '11 by
    Quote from kcmylorn
    I won't be breaking out the violins for the hospitals anytime soon. These hospital systems are making money hand over fist- the profit is never realized because they are shelling it out to the CEO's and top managment in lucrative over inflated salaries, bene, bonuses and thier own pensions. Just think what 1 hospital could do if it didn't have a CEO salary in the millions, with a performance bonus- another few million and a $12,000- $13,000/MONTH pension to pay out. They might be able to hire afew more nurses and cast the Suter group"customer service crapola" gabage by the wayside. The patient's might actually get their call bells answered, the correct medication and on time and clean linen and a bath, someone may even be able to have time to feed them if they can't feed themselves or at least figure out if they can feed themself, charting might get done accurately and descriptively- Good Lord, that sounds alot like nursing!!!
    I wish I could hit the "Kudos" button hundred times!
    Esme12, lindarn, and Jarnaes like this.
  8. Asst. Admin
    Dec 13, '11 by
    Quote from kcmylorn
    I won't be breaking out the violins for the hospitals anytime soon. These hospital systems are making money hand over fist- the profit is never realized because they are shelling it out to the CEO's and top managment in lucrative over inflated salaries, bene, bonuses and thier own pensions. Just think what 1 hospital could do if it didn't have a CEO salary in the millions, with a performance bonus- another few million and a $12,000- $13,000/MONTH pension to pay out. They might be able to hire afew more nurses and cast the Suter group"customer service crapola" gabage by the wayside. The patient's might actually get their call bells answered, the correct medication and on time and clean linen and a bath, someone may even be able to have time to feed them if they can't feed themselves or at least figure out if they can feed themself, charting might get done accurately and descriptively- Good Lord, that sounds alot like nursing!!!
    Where's our pension??? where's our retirement package??? If I had stayed at Freindly's where I worked in high school I might have a pension....but NO !! I went to college to get an education, get a good job. NOw 33 years later I have no pension, decreasing pay and benefits, poor treatment, bad/dangerous working conditions...."let go" due to budget constraints and no job.....and we as nurses think we can demand higher and higher education requirements??? Go ahead! The shortage will return as soon as the economy gives people better jobs with better benefits and conditions. I am sick to death of the CEO, administrative bullcrap.

    I never thought unionizing was the answer to nursing issues. That was until 6 years ago I found out I was wrong. Someone needs to protect the bedside nurse.
    IowaKaren, kcmylorn, Not_A_Hat_Person, and 5 others like this.
  9. Dec 14, '11 by
    To play Devil's Advocate, being in administration in my work isn't all sunshine and roses.

    Keep in mind I'm in a nursing home with a state that has mandatory safe discharge laws. In my unit of 36, 25 of them are Medicaid. Morale is low in the workplace but administration has us by the figurative balls because they know we need the jobs.
    IowaKaren, Not_A_Hat_Person, and lindarn like this.
  10. Dec 14, '11 by
    Why do hospitals have to pay for "extra" security during a strike?

    Time to check that price tag out for the article. Back in the old days strikes got ugly, but does it get ugly in front of hospitals? Why can't normal security do the job? Do they call in the police on extra jobs? All I've ever seen is people walking in circles toting signs or maybe doing a group cheer. I found it interesting the article writer tossed in the added cost of security and I questioned it. I've never worked in a unionized hospital so I'm clueless folks. On a side note it makes the nurses seem like bad a**es which might be good for a change.

    What's really happening on the strike line? Is extra security merited?
    lindarn likes this.
  11. Dec 14, '11 by
    Quote from Rodoon
    Why do hospitals have to pay for "extra" security during a strike?

    Time to check that price tag out for the article. Back in the old days strikes got ugly, but does it get ugly in front of hospitals? Why can't normal security do the job? Do they call in the police on extra jobs? All I've ever seen is people walking in circles toting signs or maybe doing a group cheer. I found it interesting the article writer tossed in the added cost of security and I questioned it. I've never worked in a unionized hospital so I'm clueless folks. On a side note it makes the nurses seem like bad a**es which might be good for a change.

    What's really happening on the strike line? Is extra security merited?
    Oh yes it is.

    While it may not be associated with nurse's job action it is not unheard of for strikes to bring damage to property and or persons, in particular *replacement* workers.

    Remember those temp nurses have to get in and out of a facility by walking right past the striking nurses. The latter get themselves a good look at who is *scab* labour and while one would like to say all nurses behave like ladies it has been known for a beat down to occur. Or, you can have tires slashed on cars belonging to administration/management/replacement nurses.

    Depending upon who represents the nurses problems can also occur from other union members in sympathy with the strikers.

    Most hospitals have a small security force that varies in size depending upon the size of the facility, their duties and so forth, but you cannot cannot expect that same force to also police the goings on during a strike.
    Not_A_Hat_Person and lindarn like this.