Unsafe call house

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I need some advice. The hospital where I work is in a small, rural area. They provide a call house for on-call staff (i.e, surgery and other staff) to stay in due to the distance most people live from the facility. The house is in an unsafe area (high crime) and has no security measures in place (poor lighting, no security system, very poor cell service). The house is also in disrepair (roof leaks, floor around toilet is soft, and there is a hole to the outside in the basement downstairs (where there are also bedrooms for personnel to stay). I was also in the house by myself last year when someone tried to break in - I had to crawl around on my hands and knees to keep cell service with 911 until the cops showed up at 2:50 am. The hospital has now put in place a new protocol for us to sign if we stay there. It includes, among many other things, that we must hold the hospital harmless and not liable if something happens to us while we are there (whether from the faulty house or from outside criminals/persons harming us). It also precludes us from bringing a firearm into the house when we stay there. Since the attempted break-in last year, I have kept a gun in the bedroom where I stay when I am there. Do not do this at home, but feel very unsecure in this home and area. I am thinking of refusing to sign this agreement (or at the least marking through the ones that deal with liability and security). What are your thoughts? (and for the record I am required to be within 20 minutes of the hospital and I live 23 minutes away from the facility).

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When I have crossed through parts of unacceptable agreements before signing, I have been refused whatever it was that I was signing for, usually the job that went with a job application. Having been subject to unsafe living situations regarding work, I would be inclined to prefer staying in my car or in a hotel. They aren't doing you a favor by making you sign the release.

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Specializes in ER.

So...I am not a lawyer.

I have heard many times that even if you sign a release from liability, you cannot sign away your rights to sue if the other party is willfully negligent. So, they know about the hole giving access to the house, or a spongy floor, or poor cell service with no house phone available...but you'd have to prove that they were notified. Send them an email with your concerns, all of them, and be specific.

I don't know your rights if you stay at the house knowing that all those issues exist. If you are REQUIRED to stay as part of your job, it seems to put more responsibility on the hospital, as opposed to just staying because it's easier. In the end, if you can't relax, or can't sleep, you might be better off on a stretcher in house.

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Report the house to the county code inspector. It's uninhabitable.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

I know it's probably easier said than done, but there is a snowball's chance in hell I would stay somewhere unsafe for a job, whether they acknowledge responsibility or not. (And clearly, they don't.)

Have you spoken with Risk Management about the unsafe aspects of that house? And that you have personally been in a clear and present danger with the break-in and spotty cell service?

If it's feasible I might even consult with an attorney to discuss the legality of requiring you to stay somewhere off the clock -- and an unsafe place at that? I would think if they have a set required response time, they should be paying you an in-house on-call wage and provide you with a space in house ​vs. an on call off premises wage.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
Report the house to the county code inspector. It's uninhabitable.

Excellent idea!

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
If it's feasible I might even consult with an attorney to discuss the legality of requiring you to stay somewhere off the clock -- and an unsafe place at that? I would think if they have a set required response time, they should be paying you an in-house on-call wage and provide you with a space in house ​vs. an on call off premises wage.

That's the thing about call though- it's typically a pittance in pay (I get $2/hour) so technically, not off the clock. Requirements may only be a response time (mine is 30 minutes) and it is up to the employee to be able to make that response time. The fact that they offer anywhere at all is more than most places do.

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Specializes in ER.

I took a job and bought a house, moved, and no one told me about a twenty minute response time requirement. Nothing in the job offer letter they sent me. I was just at twenty minutes, on good roads. When it came to winter driving, it was thirty minutes. I didn't consider myself accountable for that, because they didn't inform me before I took the job, or bought the house. Possibly the OP is in a similar situation, and I wonder where a person stands legally if they won't pay you to stay in house, but you live outside the 20min zone.

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.
Report the house to the county code inspector. It's uninhabitable.

This is a great 1st step.

They need you to stay within 20 minutes

The facility they provide is offsite, no security, unsafe conditions

They don't allow weapons to defend yourself from intruders

They want you to sign away your rights.

What's wrong with this picture?

I'd suggest reporting it for health code violations, might even be a CMS/TJC or unfair labor practice issue

Then drive to work at a time when traffic conditions are the lightest, and then tell them "yep, 20 minutes," stay home, & just make sure you can roll out the door like a fireman if called.

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Yeah I wouldn't be signing my rights away, which I know is easier said than done. You have gotten a lot of good advice. I agree with reporting the house to the county inspector. It will likely be cited and required to get repaired. I would also email Risk Management about your concerns. I would attach the police report you filed (if one was filed) when the break in occurred. Print this email out and keep this and all responses from them in printed form together. I wouldn't tell anyone else about your firearm. I mean NO ONE. You don't want to be fired for something like that because someone slipped up and told someone else you brought one.

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While I think its a great idea to provide a on-call house to nursing staff, they have a responsibility to either provide a safe, clean place to stay or reimburse you for a certain percentage for alternative accommodations. I assume by providing these lodgings they save money? Well if they refuse to address these issues, then they should offer an alternative option by reimbursing a certain percentage (What they pay in maintaining the on-call house most likely) for you to seek out your own accommodations. Or alternatively, work out a deal with a nearby hotel to offer rooms at a discounted rate. If you are going out of your way to be available, then they need to meet you halfway WITHOUT putting you in danger.

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It is a requirement that we be within 20 minutes of the hospital. And, we live in a VERY rural area. Less than 12,000 people in a county bigger than the state of Deleware. They have offered on-call housing for surgical staff for years. The house is in disrepair and they have other options for housing, they are just not using them.

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