Low Census - Is it Happening to You

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Just wondering...have the number of deliveries decreased on your units over the past month. We usually do about 3500 deliveries per year at my hospital and our numbers have been way down, at least 30-40%. We're being cancelled all the time. I haven't worked a full week since the beginning of March. Our practices are projecting things to pick up mid-May. Just wanted to know if this was happening all over or is just specific to South Carolina.

Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

Yep! This is my second night in a row to receive call off. Two weeks ago I was called off two shifts in a row too. Yet, two nights ago we were SLAMMED and had 5 deliveries on my shift.

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Specializes in Med/surg, L&D, ICU briefly, Informatics.

It is a little eerie...my facility does about 4000 deliveries a year. This weekend we were dead. Cancellations of staff left and right. I left 3 hours early tonight. But it is feast or famine. During the week, we certainly made up where the weekend lacked.

I can see the point of "it must be the economy" and people are being more careful about expanding their families, but there's also the point of "it must be the economy" and people can't afford birth control. It can go either way, I guess.

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Specializes in all things maternity.

I'd rather be called off on low census than being floated anywhere else! :no: :no: :no:

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.
I'd rather be called off on low census than being floated anywhere else! :no: :no: :no:

Me too! I'd float to NICU if they'd let me have the feeder/growers, but beyond that....:eek:.

We, however, have not been getting low census recently. If anything it's been the opposite - getting all kinds of calls at home begging for help because it's been a madhouse. Whatever happened in my area nine months ago, it did not involve birth control!!!

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Specializes in NICU.

it has been pretty bad the last 2 weeks on my floor!!! It definitely is the quiet before the storm, not to mention the OB/GYNs try not to schedule to much the week of Easter. Hoping it picks up- my co-workers always complain we're "over staffed" when this happens, but once it picks up there will be complaints of "under-staffing." haha. i'm sure people will start delivering like mad ;)

also- with economic recession comes a lot of births! the great depression lead to the baby boom! ;)

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Specializes in OB.

Our census may be down a bit from last year, but we have not had issues with downstaffing. we are trying to meet the new awhonn staffing guidelines, and are actually begging for staff to work extra to meet the guidelines while we get new RNs through orientation! I feel fortunate to be in this situation.

BTW, we do not float to other units - perinatal only.

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Specializes in L&D.

Rarely get canceled here. We seem to be as busy as ever. Of course, we go through times where it's slow. But we always pay the price later.

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