Good Nursing Shortage Article

OC_An Khe · Jan 12, 2001

A great article, encourage every one to read and pass on. Thanks for posting.

cmggriff · Jan 12, 2001

I can't believe the myth of financial distress of hospitals is so pervasive. Virtually every non-profit hospital in the nation seems to be building new additions or buying new high tech machinery. And all of the for profit health care organizations are still making huge profits, year after year. All this in spite of the enormous saleries the CEO's of these organizations are getting. I hope someone in the media gets slued in soon.

nursejanedough · Jan 13, 2001

Thank you, Julie. That was a great article. (see above). That addresses the nurse shortage in a nutshell. I know there are a lot of nurses out there that work in wonderful places and have normal problems. But I think the great majority, esp. med/surg/emergency/and Long Term Care seem to

have the most problems. (maybe more). I wish all the nurses that come to this site and are happy with their jobs would tell us what kind of nursing they are in and maybe a little about their company and where they are located. I think most who visit this site are nurses who love nursing but where we have been you can't do your job without being dangerous, lacking or liable (being sued).

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jan 13, 2001

Thanks, Julie good well rounded article with links to informative supporting data/articles. This author did their homework! Could have expanded on hospital/LTC nurses conditions more. Home care starting to feel the effect of BBA/ Hmo'S now...more paperwork ( Oasis admit form, possibly transfer form, 60 day reassessment form with only 5 day window to perform,: discharge form, insurance authorization form " typed or printed only please" )and coordination of care---multiple telephone calls telling everyone same info: Nsg CL MGR, Admitting Dr, Insurance case manager and Office of aging clinical manager..all for 1 patient admitted to a Medicare Certified homecare agency!!

I work now in Non -Profit Home Care Central Intake covering 3 agencies in two states...NJ Camden area homcare agencies severely hit by staff shortages and increased hospitalized patients past 3 months. Patients may have to wait 3-5 days after discharged from hospital till admitted to home care....7-10 days for PT/ST Therapy only cases at times.

Our Lady of Lourdes Home Care raising starting wage by $3.00 Hr for full-time staff..and heard they are offering $5,000 recruitment bonus (payable periodically) to OLOL staff members if they recruit someone and they work a year for the homecare agency!!!

Anyone interested in home care?? Contact [email protected]

nursejanedough · Jan 13, 2001

I did Home Health nursing about 4 years ago for 10 months. I enjoyed it at first, very low stress, more freedom. Only two things made me drop it. I was going into very bad areas of town. Once had a gang member come at me with a bat, I pretended I was mentally unstable (wasn't hard to do) and he turned around and left. But when my husband calculated the time I spent with the patient and how much paperwork I was doing at home, he said, "You know, you are averaging about $6.00 a hour." (He told me this in bed at 11:00pm while I was still doing my paperwork). I knew he was right. So I moved on. I know the paperwork was trememdous then and now with the new regulations, it must be ridiculous. I don't want to sound like a whiny brat. I don't want to discourage young nurses from fulfilling their dreams, etc. I am just telling my experience.

Jenny P · Jan 13, 2001

This is a good article but there is an error in it: the ANA is NOT a unit of the AHA! I know of no such link between the 2 assosciations and there couldn't be 2 more disparate groups. But it does cover a lot of the reasons why there is a nursing shortage.

prmenrs, RN · Jan 13, 2001

Hey! NRSKaren: OLOL was MY nursing school! Do they still have that statue on the top? We called her "Flash"!

Mijourney · Jan 13, 2001

Hi NRSKarenRN. You know, it was not all that long ago that home care was not taken seriously by workers in the hospital setting or the medical community. This is still true to some extent. You have accurately pointed out many of the administrative hurdles that home health care workers face. Because of OPPS, APCs, and the like, home health care workers are experiencing similar complications as institutionally-based workers. All because profits take front and center.