Introductions

U.S.A. Kentucky

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Hi everyone! I just thought I'd start the new State forums off with an introduction thread. Please feel free to reply to this thread if you wish. Otherwise, feel free to start a new topic if you wish to discuss other topics that are local or state related. Enjoy!

What is your staffing ratio, please? And where do you work?Thanks. P

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Hi Peg- if you're talking to me, I work in a hospital in downtown Louisville and our staffing ratio is 1:4-7 depending on the staffing. It's pretty much been steadily 1:5-6 lately, though. You need to move up north STAT with those ratios! PM me if you want job info for where I work- I would be scared to work where you're working!

LOL - tell me about it! Working down here IS scary.....there is such a shortage of nursing personnel.....and NO minimum staffing standards! Last night we had 2 nurses and 5 cna`s, for 153 people.

I am interested in the legislation re: minimum staffing standards. The state of Kentucky needs it passed desperately. There is no consumer advocate group in the state - nothing. HELP! P

Mini, Alexandria is not far, a bit south of Covington. In the populated areas, it is MUCH better. The rural areas - most of the state - are where the poblems lie.:o P

A pal in Lexington suggested I check out the Shelbyville area for a home, and since that's half way b/t Louisville and Lexington, I can be flexible about working in either.

I am currently working at a privately owned, 100 bed facility that 'hand picks' it 's patients. I think the excellent reputation as well as the presence of the owner as a patient on site contributes to the exclusivity of the facility. The staff is wonderful, and the pay is good, but not the best in the area. Still, I accepted a small pay cut for the peace of mind of working in a quieter, less grueling enviornment for a while. We have 4 wings, all on ground level. A and B wing are 2 nurses to 40 pts, and 4 or 5 CNA's. C and D wing has 2 nurses to 60 pts, with 6 or 7 CNA's. No IV's :nono: and no severly demented, violent pts. I'm going to hate to leave. :o

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

Shelbyville is a good place to live, especially if you have children- very good schools. There is also a hospital there, but I don't suggest working there ;). Peg, are you in a NH or hospital? If you're in a hospital, are they JCAHO accredited? If you are working in a NH, here is a link to someone you can contact regarding the staffing issue: http://chs.ky.gov/Aging/programs/Long%20Term%20Care%20Ombudsman.htm

http://chs.ky.gov/ombudsman/ And here is the main page for the KY Ombudsman.

You can contact the ombudsman regarding staffing issues, and if the NH doesn't do something about it, they can lose their Medicare/Medicaid- which isn't something they want. They can at least get some agency in there or something!

You can contact the ombudsman regarding staffing issues, and if the NH doesn't do something about it, they can lose their Medicare/Medicaid- which isn't something they want. They can at least get some agency in there or something!

How can the ombudsmen do anything, if there`s no governing law?

Pammie, I will email you a site to go in and check the n/`s inspection results - lol - that`s what I did before I aplied for a job. But this is my 4th place of employment, here - and its still bad. Hopefully, it will get better.

I came here to get away from the rat race of city living, and I did, and I love the counry, but wow! other things - like work - I don`t know.If I had had any idea how bad it was, I would have stayed in Ohio.

But - help can be obtained, if one goes about it the right way...P

Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
Originally posted by peglegpeg

How can the ombudsmen do anything, if there`s no governing law?

Are the staffing levels impacting fair and adequate treatment of the patients? Are there for instance a large number of falls/injuries/incidences that could have been prevented with adequate staffing? If so, the Ombudsman may see fit to step in and lay down some staffing requirements. It can't hurt to try.

Mini, no, the treatment is not fair or adequate. There is simply no TIME to give them the care they deserve. But the n/h is not the problem - they hire lots of people, and orient them, but they don`t show up for work, or they show up a day or two and then don`t come back.

I believe the staffing standards, or lack of them, is the problem. Not many people are voluntarily going to work in a job where the staffing is perpetually "short". And I have seen this same situation in the other counties I worked in.

From what I have seen, in the n/h industry, the state of

Kentucky "warehouses" its elderly population. And it is such a sad, sad way for a person to end their life.......P:o

HOW MANY HANDS?

are caring for your loved ones in a nursing home? Not enough!

I am lobbying for KENTUCKY legislation to pass for nursing home minimum wage staffing reform. This is a serious problem - the nursing homes are desperately understaffed! One NURSE simply cannot provide adequate care to 50-60 patients. One CNA simply cannot give adequate care to 30-40 people. Nursing home residents are suffering daily from lack of staffing. Please - add your voice - AND YOUR VOTE - to mine! Let`s give our elderly the care they need and deserve!

Vote YES for minimum staffing standard reform in Kentucky!

The general public is unaware of how poorly the state of Kentucky nursing homes are staffed. They believe that the N/H`s have adequate staffing to meet the patients` needs. Below is an excerpt of a report of the guidelines of the NCCNHR-approved federal staffing standards:

Adequate numbers of well-trained, well-supervised staff are critical to quality in long term care. The Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-203) promised each nursing home resident that s/he had the right to expect care and services from the nursing home which would allow him/her to "attain or maintain his/her highest practicable level of physical, mental, and psychosocial functioning." Unfortunately, however, Congress did not go that extra step and require a specific minimum caregiver/resident ratio or a minimum standard setting out the number of hours per patient day that a resident should be receiving care.

In 1990, Congress did require the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a study and report to Congress by January 1, 1992 on the appropriateness of establishing minimum supervisor to caregiver to resident ratios and provide recommendations on such ratios. Only now, in 1999, is that report being completed. The Department of Health and Human Services expects such a report and recommendation to be submitted to Congress in 2000.

Until the federal report was completed, the role of setting specific standards was left to the States to develop and implement. Most states have a specific minimum standard in state law, regulation, or policy. None of those state standards, however, meet the Consumer Minimum Staffing Standard - a standard developed by nursing professionals with long term care expertise and adopted by the membership of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (in 1995 and an updated version in 1998). The Consumer Minimum Staffing Standard requires, at the very least:

FOR EVERY NURSING FACILITY:

A full-time RN Director of Nursing

A full-time RN Assistant Director of Nursing (in facilities of 100 beds or more)

A full-time RN Director of In-service Education

An RN nursing supervisor on duty at all times (24 hours, 7 days per week)

Direct caregivers (RN, LPN, LVN, or CNA)

Day 1:5 residents

Evening 1:10 residents

Night 1:15 residents

PLUS

Licensed nurses (RN, LPN, or LVN)

Day 1:15 residents

Evening 1:20 residents

Night 1:30 residents

PLEASE! DO YOUR PART AND VOTE THIS INTO LAW!

EMAIL

[email protected]

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MINIMUM STAFFING REFORM:

NCCNHR

KATHY STEIN - KENTUCKY STATE LEGISLATURE

AARP

Originally posted by lgflamini

Hi Peg- if you're talking to me, I work in a hospital in downtown Louisville and our staffing ratio is 1:4-7 depending on the staffing. It's pretty much been steadily 1:5-6 lately, though. You need to move up north STAT with those ratios! PM me if you want job info for where I work- I would be scared to work where you're working!

Oh, Lgflamini, you are wonderful for making the offer, but I will stay where I am. I am working in the northernmost part of Kentucky - the Boone/Kenton/Campbell county area. If I went one step farther, I`d be back in Ohio - or in the river - LOL!

I intend to stay in the LTC field, because that is the work I`ve always loved, and that is the place where I feel I am most needed. And the LTC nursng is the part that SO desperately needs the MSS`s mandated.

This past year has been an extreme culture shock for me, but it has also been a year of change and evolving awareness. I

worked in Ohio for 23 years as an LPN, then came here to retire. I had no idea what shape LTC nursing was in, in the state of Kentucky - had I known, wild horses couldn`t have dragged me across that bridge!

But here I am - and here I`ll stay. I thought at first that it was just me - that I had been spoiled by the abundance of staff in the Ohio n/h`s. I found out out not long ago that the federal government is also involved - THANK GOD! So I have come to realize that this IS a critically important issue - its not just me - hoorah!

So I am taking one step at a time to get the nurses and the general public involved in what`s happening here in Kentucky. This is my home now, and I love living here. And I am going to do everything in my power to promote this agenda, which has become my own.

LOL - is your s/n accurate? I need lots of help, and lots of lung power. You could do much to further this cause, if you wished. Are you willing to help? Do you have the time? P

Hi everyone,

I am new at the forum, and will like to say a few words about myself. I am a pre nursing student. I will begin the nursing program next fall '04. I am really excited and looking forward to it. I will be attending Georgia Baptist School of Nursing in Atlanta. This program is a little different. It's just one year of pre recs and 3 of nursing (that includes 3 years of clinical training), which is pretty good considering that I have heard a lot of people complaining that BSN does not give you enough hands on. I am 21 and just married. I hope to keep going to become a Nurse Anesthetist and by that time i hope they have a program in Atlanta.

Anyone else here from Atlanta?

I was pre med and changed to nursing ( i want a big family)

Nice to be here, i enjoy reading the postings.

You all take care and keep remember that persevearance is the key :)

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