Heartbroken

[twinkletoes53]

I was diagnosed with arthritis 18 years ago, and I also have a vestibular loss diagnosed in 2003. I wobble sometimes but never fall; I have learned to catch myself. I use a cane at work as needed. I've had 5 orthopedic surgeries. I work 2 days a week in a huge NICU. I was at work 6 weeks ago, and tripped over some monitor wires on the floor while trying to go answer an alarm. I reached for a chair, but it was on wheels and rolled away from me. I fell hard on my hip and arm. The staff thought I might have broken my hip, but then they they got me up off the floor; transferred me twice to different chairs, then sent me to our Worker's Comp. hospital alone in a taxicab. I fell not b/c of my balance issues, but because of the cords. Other staff have fallen over cords on the floor and the unit had been trying different things like shortening the cords on our portable computers and installing cord holders on the sides of the desks. These were plastic and broke pretty fast. I thankfully had no fracture; my contusions were better after several days rest. I thought I'd go back to work as usual, but was notified that Administration had decided to keep me off work for the weekend. I thought, OK, that's great. I'll do some shopping.

Well, I've been off work with pay since my fall 6 weeks ago.

Last week I was called in to see my Boss and another Administrator. My doctor has recommended a sedentary job. I still couldn't work 40 hours/week due to the multiple meds. I'm on, which I don't take on the 2 days I work.

I was told that because of my balance issues I would no longer be allowed to work in my unit. I have worked there for 30 years. I had been given and filled in a "Request for reasonable accommodation". I was told the hospital could not honor it. I was told that the hospital would assist me in looking for a sedentary job on our campus. But if I couldn't find a job with their help or on my own in 2 months, I am to be terminated.

I have cried buckets since then. But now I am thinking more clearly: is it legal for my employer to terminate me based on "you might fall again"? I am applying for SSD, but that will take a long time to go through. IF I'm terminated, I will lose all my benefits, including my health, vision, and dental insurance. I was also told some generalizations related to my quality of work, but when I asked for specific examples, none were given me. My evaluations for the past 7 years have all been stellar and above average.

I have looked online for 4-5 hours daily and so far have been unable to find a job that pays similar to what I make now. I cannot drive more than about 20 miles at a time b/c my hip stiffens up. The recruitment lady I was sent to speak with is now on vacation for 2 weeks. I had been on full disability for 6 months after my last orthopedic surgery in early '08. It took me 19 months to work up to 24 hours/week. My disability payments stopped 6 months before I was at a full-time status again. I appealed to our disability insurance people to pay me partial disability for 6 months. I hired an attorney. Their response was that there was no reason why I couldn't work a sedentary job 40 hours/week; my doctors' notes were "subjective" (I'd submitted letters from 4 doctors). Oh, and they said I could have steroid injections in my knees to relieve the pain of arthritis. I've had both knees replaced. DUH. HELLO! Did you REALLY have your doctor review my medical history?

I am scared, but also very, very saddened and upset at how I am being treated. I want to know if what my employer wants to do is legal. Can I be terminated "Because you might lose your balance and hurt yourself or a patient"? I cannot believe that after almost 35 years at the same hospital this is happening to me. One question I was asked was "do you have to remain in this state?" I have family in other states, but this is my home! Damn it.

I told them it's taken me 35 years but my home is paid for and I am completely debt free. I am highly skilled and have certifications in my line of work, but not in other aspects of general nursing.

I don't know what to do, or where to start, or how I can defend myself. Please help.:crying2:

[Jules A, MSN]

I don't have any advice just wanted to wish you luck and send good vibes. I'm sorry this happened to you.

[TDCHIM]

I apologize for the length of this response. These are my suggestions:

1. See an attorney who specializes in disability/employment issues right away. There are so many variables in the laws governing this sort of thing, you really need someone with expert-level knowledge to advise you. Moreover, we aren't permitted to give legal advice on this site, so none of us is likely to be very helpful in that regard.

2. Go to your state's Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation/Rehabilitative Services Commission. I sound like a broken record on some of these threads, but the fact is, the people who work there are paid to help those with disabilities (no, you don't have to be on SSDI in order to qualify) get the necessary job modifications or assistive devices they need to work. However, they cannot force employers to adopt the accommodations they suggest; that takes legal help. If your current job truly isn't a viable option for you any more (or the employer says it isn't and you decide against fighting the situation), they help you obtain any necessary additional training and help you to find employers who have jobs you can do. They also make deals with those employers (reducing tax burdens, for instance) to make them more willing to take on disabled employees. They're good people to have working with you.

3. Check into whether your doctor has any suggestions for medication regimen modification. I go to school full-time and plan to work full-time taking some heavy-hitter medications, but I'm going into a medical paper-pusher type of job. If you transition into a case management position (or something similarly desk-based), taking such meds may not be a problem if you can adjust to the side effects. I function perfectly normally on such meds, so don't assume you just plain can't take them at work.

4. I have some idea of how betrayed you must feel by your employer's actions. I was bounced from a job I was completely capable of doing with extremely minor accommodations. The employer dismissed me (after a campaign of abuse in an attempt to make me quit and therefore avoid paying unemployment compensation) and was brazen enough to say in a letter that it was because I'd become disabled. Two attorneys told me I could sue and win, but that due to my low wage, I'd barely make enough back to pay off the fees. I also would have gotten my job back, but I just couldn't bear to work there again after what had happened. So I went in a different direction instead, and today I am working towards a career where I know I'm much more likely to be fully valued for my gifts.

You will likely have to make some very tough decisions in the future with regard to your current position and employer. Legal action can drag on for years and be incredibly costly. Before you pursue anything like that, ask yourself if it's truly worth what it's likely to cost you in terms of money, time, and emotional anguish. I wish you the very best of luck and I hope you'll keep us updated. Feel free to PM or email me if you wish.

[twinkletoes53]

i really don't want to have to pay for an attorney, although i contacted one that had helped me in the past just to ask some questions. it's way more involved than i can afford. i've been told by my doctors that i qualify for ssd, and am trying to apply for that on line. i fully understand the hospital not wanting me to work as a staff nurse due to my balance issues. if i fell and hurt a patient, i would just die. what i don't understand is that i've had the vestibular loss since '03; had a functional capacity evaluation last year that showed i needed a sedentary job. repeated the test this year with the same results... i'm at risk for falls, and i need my cane for stability. (i've used a cane for 10 years.)

i asked repeatedly not to be given heavy assignments or patients that i had to pick up multiple times, but this was not followed. the hospital now says i am a risk to myself and others; yet for 8 solid weeks a few months ago i was in our step-down unit with 3 babies assigned to me, that i had to pick up and return to their cribs every 3-4 hours to feed, weigh, bathe, etc. i would feed the babies in the bed so as to not pick them up. i asked my charge nurse.....if they were so worried about my stability (i was worried too) why were they trusting me with these babies? no answer, other than "you're right". it's like this fall was the final straw. trust me, if i'd fallen because i lost my balance, i'd leave quietly. but in this instance i fell because of a common problem in the unit that's caused other staff to trip and fall.

we work with 35-40 nurses per shift. i had thought, let some of the younger nurses who don't have a host of medical problems look after these big babies. my charge nurse said to me one day; "well, you know it's so hard to find a suitable assignment for you." i am being biased in my favor here; but i thought to myself...we have 80+ babies here. pick 2 that are warmer or incubator bound and let me care for them. i know i need help. i also know that staff that i ask for help are the ones that are on the computers surfing the net or playing online games. maybe they're the ones that "complained" about having to work with me. i wish i were happy and fulfilled with the way my career is ending.

in 2005 i was nominated by someone, and was one of 4 recipients of our state's award for excellence. i had really wanted to complete 35 years at this hospital. that was a goal i'd set for myself when my medical problems worsened. that's 11 months from now. dear god, is there not a job where i can sit most of the time for 11 months? between us and a sister hospital we have over 800 beds. i asked about being a phone triage nurse and was told there weren't any openings. i wanted to scream "then make one, please!" just for 11 months.

i need to get some sleep. i haven't been to bed all night, so if i sound confused, it's because i'm exhausted. spent 4+ hours online looking for work last night, as i've been doing every day since last week.

the not knowing is hard. and feeling that i am not appreciated at all for the 30+ years of study, experience, and knowledge in my head, that i share freely, is a deep, deep wound. i hurt.

[twinkletoes53]

I don't have any advice just wanted to wish you luck and send good vibes. I'm sorry this happened to you.

Thank you. If you're a religious person, please keep me in your prayers.

[TDCHIM]

I wish this weren't happening to you. I also wish I had something more to offer in the way of helpful advice. The is an ugly and bitterly unfair situation. I'm so terribly, helplessly sorry.

I will send up one of my occasional prayers and ask for your well-being and a successful resolution to your fight for respectful treatment with your hospital. May God bless you.

[twinkletoes53]

i was diagnosed with arthritis 18 years ago, and i also have a vestibular loss diagnosed in 2003. i wobble sometimes but never fall; i have learned to catch myself. i use a cane at work as needed. i've had 5 orthopedic surgeries. i work 2 days a week in a huge nicu. i was at work 6 weeks ago, and tripped over some monitor wires on the floor while trying to go answer an alarm. i reached for a chair, but it was on wheels and rolled away from me. i fell hard on my hip and arm. the staff thought i might have broken my hip, but then they they got me up off the floor; transferred me twice to different chairs, then sent me to our worker's comp. hospital alone in a taxicab. i fell not b/c of my balance issues, but because of the cords. other staff have fallen over cords on the floor and the unit had been trying different things like shortening the cords on our portable computers and installing cord holders on the sides of the desks. these were plastic and broke pretty fast"

since i wrote that, another nurse has tripped over multiple monitor cords which were by her patients' bed and fell. she was sent to worker's comp/ and employee health, like i was. she told me that the next time she worked, she was approached by one of our unit's team leaders. she mentioned the fall and how it happened, and she was told "oh well, it's always been that way."

she has filed a copmplaint with the safety committee of our hospital. i never even thought about doing that, but will file a complaint now, too. if they do not know what is going on, how can the problem be addressed?

[twinkletoes53]

i had just sent a letter to the people who mentioned terminating me, with copies to our don and the hospital's ceo. i asked what their specific reasons were, since i wasn't given anything in writing, and had done nothing wrong. i was polite, but to the point. i also enclosed letters sent to me by parents, praising the quality of care and compassion i showed when caring for their children.

i got a phone call from the hospital today. they are going to call me about a temporary position in our after-hours healthline; a phone triage job.

amazing what directing your letter to the right people will do.

please keep praying that all goes well.

[twinkletoes53]

I thank you for your prayers and your support. I had a friend of mine empty out the contents of my locker in the NICU, and bring them to me at home. If I had to do that, I would have had a complete meltdown.

[twinkletoes53]

i got a phone call from the hospital this week. they are going to call me about a temporary position in our after-hours healthline; a phone triage job.amazing what directing your letter to the right people will do. please keep praying that all goes well.

i just found out that this position will be zb (zero based) : no health insurance or other benefits; only work when needed; and you do not accummulate vacation time. i did offer to take call every day, and work nights and holidays. they liked that. i'm supposed to start training asap, but the nurse that does it is on vacation for 2 weeks. theoretically, if they don't need me to work for a couple of weeks, i won't have a paycheck. mmm....ok....i get it....this way the hospital can say that they did try to find me a position.

today i completed my online application for ssd. (social security disability). it took me about 16 hours of computer work over several days to complete it, but it is now filed. lord, i hope i get approved.

[babynurse428]

My dear friend. I wish I could say that I don't know what you are going through, but I do. I have been fighting these demons for over 11 years. They have always found a way to keep me just out of reach of a job. I have one thing that is worse. The doctors keep telling me that I can work with limitations and I cannot go for SSI, but I cannot find a job that will work with my limitations. My next step is for Voc rehab, but I will have to pay for the help on my own. I have no insurance. My disability money ran out almost a year ago. I have pieced together a few things here and there to get some money in my pocket, but that just ran out too. No one wants to help and no one seems to care. I am tired of fighting, but continue to do so to survive. The hospital that you work for is covering their butts. Your accident opened their eyes to the possibilites of what could happen in the future and they are cutting their losses before something happens. If you resign or they terminate you, you can maintain your insurance and disability insurance and if they say no, find an ERISA attorney ASAP!! They cannot do that! Cost me $350 for a letter from an ERISA attorney to stop them from doing that. It was quick and painless!

I wish I had better advise. But I wish you well and if you want to contact me outside of this board, we will make it happen. I know how you feel. I miss the babies so much!! But maybe together we can help each other move forward!

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

i was diagnosed with arthritis 18 years ago, and i also have a vestibular loss diagnosed in 2003. i wobble sometimes but never fall; i have learned to catch myself. i use a cane at work as needed. i've had 5 orthopedic surgeries. i work 2 days a week in a huge nicu. i was at work 6 weeks ago, and tripped over some monitor wires on the floor while trying to go answer an alarm. i reached for a chair, but it was on wheels and rolled away from me. i fell hard on my hip and arm. the staff thought i might have broken my hip, but then they they got me up off the floor; transferred me twice to different chairs, then sent me to our worker's comp. hospital alone in a taxicab. i fell not b/c of my balance issues, but because of the cords. other staff have fallen over cords on the floor and the unit had been trying different things like shortening the cords on our portable computers and installing cord holders on the sides of the desks. these were plastic and broke pretty fast"

since i wrote that, another nurse has tripped over multiple monitor cords which were by her patients' bed and fell. she was sent to worker's comp/ and employee health, like i was. she told me that the next time she worked, she was approached by one of our unit's team leaders. she mentioned the fall and how it happened, and she was told "oh well, it's always been that way."

she has filed a copmplaint with the safety committee of our hospital. i never even thought about doing that, but will file a complaint now, too. if they do not know what is going on, how can the problem be addressed?

file a complaint with the board of health and osha. they are the government agencies that will investigate this and it won't cost you a penny! then file an unsafe condition at jacho