starting about a month ago, management started making noises about how the new medicare regulations that take effect in jan 2015 are going to kill their profits. we got a steady stream of not-so-subtle hints that we would all be lucky to make it through. idk if it's even true about the new regs, or if they're using that as an excuse - 6 months in advance! - to get rid of staff to increase their profits. after all, they're currently building two brand new high-end facilities. if the company was really hurting for money, wouldn't they be closing facilities instead of opening new ones?
anyway. either way, they've started seriously reducing hours for everyone who is more costly - nurses with experience, BSN/MSN nurses, PRN nurses (including me), etc. and hiring lots of full time techs/aides and new grads (at ridiculously low salaries ). It looks like they're hoping the more expensive staff will leave if their hours are reduced enough.
i'm scared because i've been fence-sitting this entire year - i've been wanting to take the plunge and quit my day job and really go sink-or-swim with my business, but to be honest i'm kinda terrified of failure and of not having a paycheck so i couldn't bring myself to quit. it appears the universe/the free market/whatever is making the decision for me, since my company is basically getting rid of me. they hired a new grad LPN a month ago and since then i've had about 1/3 of the hours that i usually get.
is this a thing that's happening everywhere? is it happening in your workplace? if you're being made redundant or having your hours reduced, what are you doing about it?
Overall, US hospitals have (and are continuing to) experience declining census. The pundits are saying this is an indication that ACA is 'starting to work' - increased access to primary & preventative care leading to less inpatient admissions. A few years ago, many organizations in my neck of the woods adopted 100% flex staffing - so ALL departments are adjusting staffing to reflect current census. At the same time, productivity requirements have also been increased . . . fewer staff working harder.
Our hospital built a brand new facility, during which time the fear mongering started with carefully orchestrated "letters from the CEO." "We want to save everyone's jobs, oh we do we really do! But we don't know if we can," and, "We the senior administration are having a meeting again this week (at xyz resort) to discuss how to save your jobs!"
Then came the announcements of early retirement offerings: "You don't have to take the early retirement, but we can't guarantee you'll still have a position."
Then came the mysterious disappearances of RN's with seniority. They went flying out the window like so many bits of confetti.
Then came the massive hiring of new grads. Very young new grads.
Oh boy
That sounds awful
But why fire all nurses with seniority? I can see they might get a pay cut.... But why lay them all off?
Where I work announced that it is closing(LTC facility) due to underfunded reimbursement. Very sad to see the residents leave one by one.....breaks my heart. So, I will be unemployed soon.
But why fire all nurses with seniority? I can see they might get a pay cut.... But why lay them all off?
They kept key players to meet minimum standards of having "X" number of experienced staff. But many others got the boot one way or the other.
It seemed like one day we woke up and didn't recognize anyone. I even had a patient and his wife, who were visiting our area from another part of the state, take me aside one day and ask, "Is it our imagination or are all the nurses here really, really young?"
It's a union facility so they had to get creative in how they got rid of people. Pay cuts were not an option under union contract, as I understand it.
Several hospitals around where I live are going through turn over of higher ups & shedding positions that are part time or PRN..many nurses around here want 8 hr shift options instead of 12's but it's a no-go..the LTAC's, hospices, home healths in this area are also slow to hire & PRN is REALLY PRN at most of the places.......experience or not, new grad or not, BSN, whatever..it's a tough healthcare market in GA.
No layoffs for the sake of layoffs, but there is less cake or pie to go around and they are being more "selective" about who gets their cake or pie. That leaves many without work where a few years ago they would have been working.
Census has been bursting through the seems at my workplace since the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare) was enacted into law.
We've been on a hiring spree for the past few months to fill all the staffing voids. Shift cancellations now occur only once in a blue moon.
However, starting in 2015 our PRN nurses who have been accustomed to full time hours will be forced to work no more than 30 hours per week due to the new law. They work PRN for the extra $9 to $12 per hour, but soon they will need to choose between accepting a full-time position for lower pay or contending with reduced PRN hours.
We have a full building as well with a waiting list. A bed is usually empty no more than a day or 2. For whatever reason, we only have a couple PRN nurses and no PRN CNA'S, so full time staff is expected to cover. Overtime is not an issue. Work all you want. To be fair I work for a not-for-profit company. I'm certain that makes a difference.
Hospital that I used to work at prior to grad school closed one unit and laid off the staff. Also, each unit downsized. My old unit lost 5 RNs and coincidentally all 5 were ADNs and their experience was each 4 or more years.
The two inner city hospitals where I live are both crying the blues about the millions they are losing, fishing for more govt funding. Good luck with that! Of course the CEO's for both organizations make millions, but that's another story! While I understand they are legitimately losing money due to all the uninsured and medicaid patients, they also have transferred profitable sectors to other hospitals, inflating the losses all the more! Did they do this to inflate the losses to push for closing the hospitals? Or did they do this to keep patients from fleeing over the hospital patient population? Or a little of both? I'm just glad I don't work for them. Luckily both health systems have other hospitals that bring profits into the system! Also both systems have been building hospitals in the suburbs. When they bring up the possibility of closing and that the losses are unsustainable there is a lot of community push back starting with the mayor. Only time will tell how things turn out!
Yes, I am experiencing it too! Over the past 2 years I have watched my hours gradually get cut down to what is now drastic! In Canada, all the nurses are feeling it. My hospital has cut back on staffing/hours; I'd say approx. 75% of the nurses I work with have a 2nd job, the other 25% are dual income via their spouse's salary to keep things financially afloat. I went from being able to treat myself to one modest vacation a year to being unable to cover my bills/student loan payments. It's pretty depressing... not only what is happening to us personally, but the way it has degraded patient care. How governments can rationalize making such drastic cuts to an essential service that keeps humans alive is beyond my ability/willingness to comprehend. They're all rich enough to hire private duty MDs or nurses should they experience an acute illness, so they don't give two $hits about the public.
What I will never understand is when the writing is on the wall why don't people become proactive and make a change on their own terms? To me if an employer is actually saying they will be making cuts I'm going to do everything I can to be the one saying "Peace Out" first.
). It looks like they're hoping the more expensive staff will leave if their hours are reduced enough.
HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD
9,051 Posts
Overall, US hospitals have (and are continuing to) experience declining census. The pundits are saying this is an indication that ACA is 'starting to work' - increased access to primary & preventative care leading to less inpatient admissions. A few years ago, many organizations in my neck of the woods adopted 100% flex staffing - so ALL departments are adjusting staffing to reflect current census. At the same time, productivity requirements have also been increased . . . fewer staff working harder.