My hospital is closing

[eelipps]

My 110 year old hospital is closing because of extensive losses. I recently joined the staff there, having left a position as manager for another tele unit where staffing levels were unsafe and we were constantly being told to reduce more costs without giving the nurses any support services. So when I went to the current job, I was shocked to see how great they were staffed; now I am wondering just how much nurses are going to have to cut back just to keep their facilities open? How much can nurses do without any support services? What about the threats of liability for now giving PRN meds in a timely manner? How about patient safety? How about job satisfaction, where you go home at the end of the day feeling like you made a difference, that you "helped the sick"? Where are the answers?

[oramar]

Remember a few years ago when lack of health insurance was the biggest health care problem in this country. Then the shortage of workers developed. Well, there is a new problem that is hitting hard and it is goverment induced, it is lack of access to health care. It is affecting people without insurance severly but many people with insurance are finding their community hospitals disappearing. Overloaded ERs are a symptoms of this problem. I say it is goverment induced because personel shortages and hospital closings have there roots in the sever cutbacks the goverment made in medicare and medicade in the early 90s. I remember at the time I was concerned about the effects. I now wish that I would have realized how they would impact me professionally and moved into another field. I was ten years younger then and could have made a change much easier. Anyway, the goverment is just going to have to increase reimbursements for medicare and medicade and allow hospitals and doctors to make some sore of claim for people they treat that do not have insurance. At what point they will do this I do not know, perhaps when the senators and congressmen start trying to take their families to hsopitals and find that there are none they will wake up.

[timonrn]

One word: Twin Cities! If you need a job, move here!!!

[Jenny P]

Way to go Timonrn! We do have a shortage here also.

Seriously, 1983RN, there is an awful lot of greed in the health care industry, and it isn't the nurses' salaries that are causing it. Here in the Twin Cities, there is a health care corporation that is being audited by the Mn. State Attorney General, and some of the money spent for administrative purposes includes gold golf tees, Waterford crystal vases and a $10,000 laser light show for a corporate meeting! And then there are the bonuses, the consultant fees, etc! I wrote and told MNA (which has a News Scan column which is posting these articles from the local paper) that as nurses these things are unnecessary- give the nurses a decent salary and better benefits and they wouldn't need sales perks (like the gold golf tees!).

I'm sorry you are losing your new job, what are you going to do now?