Facility Cut Staff Pay by 3%, More to Come?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I was recently made aware that the facility I work for, or rather the corporation, cut all staff pay by 3% before I was hired on. This was after 2 years of mandatory raise freezes. I was also told by a reliable source that the corp is planning to further cut staff pay by another 6% by the end of the year due to the fact that they have to provide insurance for all. We are not offered insurance or any other benefit save for paid vacation at this time. Have any of you heard of such a thing? Is that even legal? I'm having a hard time finding legal statutes on taking pay away. We are also all required to take a full hour lunch because "census is low." We have 75 residents with 2 nurses and supposed to be 5 CNA's. (It's usually 4 lately.) This corp owns around 30 facilities, so it's not like it's a "mom and pop" kind of business. Thoughts?

(Side note: I am actively seeking employment elsewhere.)

Specializes in Emergency.

Well...the big hospitals are doing the same thing here in CT. They can and will do whatever they want and blame it on every "other" reason-cuts in reimbursement, The ACA, etc...etc..when the real culprit is corporate greed. Simple-end of story. Why does the CEO of my organization-who make over 6 million not even consider a cut in his pay???and cut the wage earner??? Why??? There is no "good" reason...PATIENTS SUFFER people! this is the bottom line. The days of ever relying on "the company" for pensions, loyalty have been over since I started working in the early eighties...as far as I am concerned let them keep their "gifts" as one poster so aptly noticed...I can and will fend for myself...It is called self-preservation in a world gone crazy with money hungry/greedy narcissists...

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Union Nurses aren't necessarily immune either. My employer can't cut salaries per our contract, but nothing stopped them from shifting almost their entire health insurance contribution on to employees, which for the average employee meant about an 8% pay cut. As a reward for saving all this money, our CFO got a $550,000 bonus (in addition to other bonuses).

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Specializes in LTC.

I was recently set to task to attempt to "find a comparable med" to a very expensive med a resident is on. This one med is around $1200/mo. After consulting with a pharmacist, it was determined that a "somewhat comparable but not as effective" med would cost only $240/mo. I dutifully, if not unwillingly called the MD to see if she would change it. She would not, (and I agreed) citing that the res is very well controlled on the more expensive med and to change it could result in loss of medical stability. This res is currently on MCR and has a RUG level of RUA. When he is d/c'd from MCR and goes MCD, his RUG will likely be in the PD1 range. The powers that be are now seriously considering d/c'ing this res from our facility d/t not being "cost effective." I understand that this is a business, but I am more acutely aware that they are PEOPLE. I did not become a nurse to make a corporation money. I became a nurse to take care of people, and hopefully make whatever time they have left a little more comfortable and enjoyable. For-profit corporations and the federal government are making that harder and harder to accomplish. Makes me sick.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

RUA rug level pays between $430-500.00 per day.......at 500.00/day x 30 days is like $15,000.00 per month for that resident, i see room to pay for that expensive drug..... i would rather not, but there is still a profit margin.... :roflmao:

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
... I did not become a nurse to make a corporation money. I became a nurse to take care of people...

Throughout my tenure, the sentiment expressed above has become increasingly more problematic.

My hunch is that it will only continue in the current direction, but at an even faster pace.

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And, of course, there's the fact that pharmacies and medical supply companies charge an absolutely ridiculous amount for their products.

The high price of medications I can understand to a degree. New drug reseach costs money. But there's still no excuse for the amount of money some of these drugs cost.

And the amount we pay for basic supplies like diapers and gauze and catheters is totally absurd. What could possibly justify those high prices? Free market my butt. All of those medical supply companies clearly have some sort of trust set up amongst themselves to keep the price of their products artifically high. They have us over a barrel and they know it.

I know people are going to call me a socialist or something, but its high time the government steped in and took them down a peg.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

Brandon,

You're a socialist...or something.:sarcastic:

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Brandon,

You're a socialist...or something.:sarcastic:

Well, maybe so, but you have to admit the price for medical supplies really is much higher than it logically ought to be. I do think there's deliberate price gouging (or fixing or whatever) behind it.

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