ADON/LPN Fired after 13 years of service!! Your thoughts?

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2013

My thoughts? Nepotism. What's new?

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Jul 15, 2013

Companies hire and fire people all the time. Best not to take it personally.

downsouthlaff, LPN · Jul 15, 2013

I guess that's the risk you run when working for a Privately Owned Family Nursing Home, there ultimate goal I guess is to utilize the business to take care of the family.......and as the family members become qualified they fill the positions!! Sad, and I wanna say wouldn't do the same if I was in the owners position, but whats one to do? Fire a stranger, or have a family feud? Its still very very wrong and unethical but I guess its something you should always keep in mind before signing up to work at a family facility/business, vs working for a Non Profit org. facility or a Corporate Mangaged facility. In the back of her mind she probably new that this was coming, just chose to block it out, and was hit with reality.

ricksy · Jul 15, 2013

No matter what people think, business are made and set up to make a profit. I currently work for a LTF that is Corporate owned, and it is very very profit driven...and cheap. Don't think that the family owned ones are the only ones out to make a profit! Meanwhile, coming from a family of successful business owners of many varieties....including my husband....the business OWNER is the ONE who lies in bed at night and worries about the bills and the problems...therefore, making him and only him the one who has the RIGHT to make the decisions he sees fit. Owning your own business has its perks, but headaches too. Can't take things so personally.

amoLucia · Jul 16, 2013

I do see a problem here. In the absence of the DON, the ADON assumes responsibility for the facility's nsg dept and pt care issues. If by your State's regulations, the DON position requires an RN license, how then can an LPN be an interim DON without the required license??? That's why the supervisor had to be an RN. Unless that State allows LPN ADONs, I can understand the administration's predicament. Having to pay 2 individuals to cover one position that can be covered by the RN license.

I can give you a hypothetical situation. Your ADON-LPN is the on-call weekend management nurse and there's a death in the facility. Who will pronounce & sign the death certificate??? Most states require an RN signature, so unless you have another RN in the bldg, another RN management nurse will have to cover. And she should be compensated $$$ for her time. So there's the issue.

I could never understand how LPNs could be ADONs, Unit Mgrs, or supervisors because of the license issue, NOT because of their competency, but just because they don't have the correct piece of paper to hang on the wall.

It is a shame that the ex-ADON dedicated 13 years to her position there. Thirteen years of loyalty & caring. But I ask - was she blind-sided out-of-the-blue by the decision??? Didn't she see this issue as a potential problem? In today's environment, nobody should be lulled into a false sense of job security. I would guess that there was writing on the wall before she was let go. Maybe she just didn't see it and take measures to protect herself - like going back to school for her RN.

I have concern for today's LPNs. I really don't know if they have a long-term future. The way things are going, it appears to me that there may just be RN-BSNs and RNs with a lot of para-titles.

The new graduate RN hired as ADON may soon find herself out of her league like a fish out of water and whether she knows it or not, she may be a failure waiting to happen. Of course, her job may go 1 of 2 ways.

If she fails, they'll let her go in a NY minute. Or else, she'll move up in the administrative ranks (per the Peter Principle) and float along. Is it fair - NO. Does it happen - YES. But business is business.

NurseGuyBri · Jul 31, 2013

Amo- I was an LPN ADON for 2 years prior to my RN and then DON as I am now. We made it through because of our FT MDS coordinator (who rocks!) filled in as the DON on days needed/ interim. I still did the work, the role, but she was the one responsible. The fact she trusted me meant a lot, but in the end, that's how we got creative. I'm thankful, because I did an awesome job! We have 24h RN coverage, so as the ADON regardless of if the DON was present at the time, we had it worked out.. SNFs are creative. It's funny, I see our budget and P&L's.. We do *not* make a ton of money and our company takes good care of us. they've had to cut a lot, but it's understandable.

withasmilelpn · Aug 7, 2013

Well there is such a thing as smart business practice - and I'm questioning how smart they are. 8 DONs? That is some pretty high turn over and speaks to some likely problems. Long term care is highly regulated, experienced people struggle to make sure they are compliant with all the regs - firing their ADON of 13 years AND their administrator, hiring an inexperienced RN out of school sounds like a recipe for disaster when it comes inspection time. That's probably why the administrator was so upset. The facility owners probably had no idea how valuable having her was, but they are likely to find out now. (Also, while I have sympathy for business owners because my husband is one, being an owner doesn't mean that their business decisions are always the best ones, whether they lie in bed at night and worry or not. A bad decision is a bad decision - this could be one of them.)