Staffing

cardiacfreak, ADN · Jul 21, 2015

When will administrators understand?

lindarn · Jul 21, 2015

Administrators understand full well. That, though is not the issue. The issue is, "CONTROL".

if hospitals let nurses control their staffing, where will it end? They will lose control over their cash cows- nurses, and nursing care.

Nurses will demand better pay, benefits, and, "perks", that only the head honchos have. When financial resources are not directed to patient care, they are directed to six figure CEO salaries,fancy lobbies, grand pianos and art work in the lobbies, "concierge" services for patients and visitors- with nurses being the slaves that have to provide this service.

I will also say again, that until nurses bill for their services, our professional services will continue to be rolled in with the room rate, housekeeping, and the complimentary roll of toilet paper. We will continue to see our names show up on the negative side of the balance sheet.

They will NEVER GIVE IN- NURSES HAVE TO TAKE IT FROM THEIR CLUTCHES!

I will also say again, that nurses need to get in the public's face about this issue. You need to involve the local paper, TV Stations, have large public rallies in a very public place, at a time, when there will be a lot of people there. Go to Kinkos, or Staples, and have them make BIG SIGNS, with the CEO salaries and perks, patient acuity, patient mortality when staffing is low, research as to staffing ratios and patient morbidity and mortality, etc.

You need to make it clear to the public, that their lives are in danger when the go to a hospital, not from their disease, illness, surgery, but from DELIBERATE UNDER STAFFING BY THE HOSPITAL!!

If, when, there is a patient death, that you can directly connect to under staffing, you have given notice to the proper hospital authorities, as to how dangerous staffing is, and there is no change in the staffing, I would put on my big girl panties, and would go so far, as to call the local District Attorney, and try to have criminal charges brought against administration, the CEO, or whoever was responsible.

You need to keep meticulous records, of staffing, what was said, what was done, or not done, reasons given by administrators, etc.

Until the Big Boys and Big Girls, start to feel the consequences of their actions, that directly cause patient's death, they will never give in.

And I am not just being dramatic. When administrators, refuse common sense staffing decisions, and their actions cause a death, that is murder- Black's Law Dictionary defines, "Murder with depraved indifference", as 'A murder resulting from an act so reckless and careless of the safety of others, that it demonstrates the perpetrators complete lack of regard for human life' ".

Isn't that what hospital administrators are doing when they deliberately under staff patient units? They now the full cause and affect of under staffing, and until they are MADE TO COMPLY WITH PATIENT RATIOS, PATIENTS WILL DIE!

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Jul 21, 2015

It's all about the money twin sister. Dead patients are now "collateral damage".

As long as nursing care is a corporate commodity, staffing levels will not change.

toomuchbaloney · Jul 22, 2015

We will continue to have issues like this as long as we run our national health care like a for profit business. Profit above people is the norm in a society which worships at the altar of greed and excess. In order for hospitals to profit they must minimize how much they spend and they view nursing to be a prime area to cut costs.

I understand that the thought of single payer government health insurance scares the eyelashes out of too many "conservative" citizens. Unfortunately, their fear is largely based in unfounded fear mongering which is promoting a specific political agenda rather than an agenda of improved health care and outcomes.