Anyone ever heard of anything like this?

[JusBeinANur]

I work in a LTC facilty, at our last staff meeting our administrator and DON announced that they would be reporting people for neglect & abuse, would call the police and have them arrested. Here is the part that caught me off gaurd.... The Examples they gave are as follows... (1) If one CNA reports that a fellow CNA failed to change their patient(s) that is considered neglect (2) Nurses and/or Med Tech's.. You have a resident that falls and they wear a body alarm, it is found that the body alarm wasn't on them or working properly that is considered neglect/abuse (3) You fail to follow-up on PRN meds, or a patient reports that they are still having pain and you do nothing to try to manage it, ie., you have given all scheduled pain meds and prn meds and pt is still reporting 2/10 on the pain scale and you don't follow-up with Dr., etc it is neglect/ abuse.. They then proceeded to tell staff that if anything like this came up they would be calling the police, would have them arrested, the employee would be suspended and a investigation would follow, and they would report you to the state and the prosecuting attorney..

Since this meeting ( which has only been a few days ) Our staff is not showing up for work, quitting,etc..

This, of course, leaves us short staffed and creates many problems. Over the weekend we also found out that our facility had the long-distance suspended on the phone lines, staff was not informed of this by the admin., It was discovered when trying to place a call to hospice. We have also had numerous theft's in the bld., including a office door trying to be kicked-in, the facility threatned a "sting-operation" but failed to make a police report on the incident.

We were also given documents from corporate that state the procedure for reporting neglect abuse is as follows

(1) notify the victims family or Rep.

(2) Call the police

(3) Call the Admin., DON

The Administrator proceeds to inform us that SHE IS TO BE CALLED FIRST..

I am thinking this situation is very strange but since I haven't worked at very many places, I am in need of your Advice, comments, and suggestions.

Thanks!

[BrookeeLou_RN]

I'd be getting a new job tomorrow.. Maybe they have been threatened by some government entity. Maybe corporate is being watched or worse...They are looking to place any blame on any thing to someone-else. Never heard of any LTC acting this way.. know of one HH that did funny things then 30 days later (I had decided to move) pictures in the papers of the FBI raid,,,all of them in handcuffs!! Now it turned out to be medicare fraud on owners parts and nurses were released but??????? I have never been paid enough for that. Be careful, very careful.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

And the meeting was concluded by the DON stating "and the beatings shall continue until morale improves!"

I strongly suggest finding another job. This is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to start. I mean, like really, you're working for highly incompetent managers. I can't think of a worse way to do what they've done. Wishing you good luck and a more deserving employer.

[merlee]

There are serious issues here, mostly with people in the admin. But something is seriously amiss, and you should be looking for a new job. Pronto!

[TickyRN]

What the h\\?

Do you work at a zoo? Where employers are animals because that how your DON and administator is treating yall right now. Please turn in your resignation asap.

Call the police because a resident's pain is still 2/10, have they ever worked in healthcare? So its 2am and you call a doctor for pain 2/10 ????

Or if the pt takes off the alarm and then falls, they still blame you.

Please keep copies of any communication and policies that was communicated in this meeting. So in case you get fired, you can hire a lawyer because you are being harrassed with the threat of jail (caged) everyday.

[lckrn2pa]

I'd walked out of that meeting right then and there. I quit, no way would I take a chance on some spiteful person that may have it in for me reporting some nitpicking little BS thing. Just walk away. Let the admin and DON take care of the patients. To be honest I'd encourage everybody to walk. Not worth it.

[BrookeeLou_RN]

God help the patients!

[noahsmama]

Um, yeah, your local police department is going to LOVE that!!!!!

Seriously though, I'd be outta there like the proverbial bat out of you know where!

[PeteyPie]

Yeah, so hypothetical situation. A nursing home just has an administrator and a DON working there. The administrator fails to change one of his 137 patients. Who's on the phone to the police first?

[backatit2]

that's insane! i've known patients who have wet themselves in the bed and then claimed that they kept trying to call (which they didn't) and nobody would come simply because they didn't want to get out of bed and use the commode. i've known patients who rate their pain as 10 EVERY time they're asked - whether it's 5 mins. before or 30 mins. after their pain meds.

anyone who has actually worked with patients should know how ridiculous that rule/threat is. i would find another job ASAP.

[happy2learn]

Run as far away and as fast as you can !!!!

[don2]

that would be the nurse liability when patient complaints of 2/10 pain scale, patients may be liars too and giving another extra dose may depress patients RR, both have legal and medical implications, thus, nurses here in this cases is tied on his hands and legs, better quite, that a disrespect for the nursing profession, nursing are oath to the profession to maintain the highest standard of practice, this implies, moral, legal, esteem of the professional bearer.

Get out of that system, dont victimize yourself, that LTC is making some frauds for insurance and money things at the expense of its employee. Resign now!