Floating all the time, very low census

Cramp packed overflowing into recovery room, ER holding critical care patients, med-surg patients unable to get beds in a reasonable amount of time. Nurses tripled in critical care units. No problem here.

But during our "off season" which is summer in this part of Florida we experience a drop in census. Sometimes we close down units for repair, cleaning and painting at that time.

I work in a 16 bed CCU and are census has been incredibly low this year, to a point where the unit was closed for a while. Are there any of you that are experiencing a low census period. It is becoming very disheartening for all of us at work, after all if I wanted to be in the float pool I would. :rotfl:

I just left a community hospital because of low census in our CCU. Dont know what happened to all of the patients but I too, was either floating or cancled. I now work at a large Trauma instituation and that will NEVER happen...

When I worked a PURE CCU late april into may way always low census. In fact we had closed the 10 bed unit several times, a few days each time.

I now work in a mixed CCU/micu, 28 beds, only 14 patients two days ago, only one cardiac.

My heart transplant unit, which does take overflow, only has two off service cardiac's, we're usually full with CHF'rs.

I'm NE.

I remember when I first went through this I was afraid... loosing vacation days to substitute pay, then I started floating when able to other areas. Usually the house was having low census too. It WILL pass,

Texas here. low census too. Some staff are already complaining of not completing there hours (80 hrs), PTO already used up.