Planetree affiliated hospital = MORE BURNOUT (LONG)

[abbaking]

The hospital I work for just became affiliated with Planetree Alliance. Basically, Planetree is an organization that helps hospitals become more patient centered and holistic. The hospital I work for has implemented Daily devotionals, room service, 24 hour visitation, arts, music, a GRAND PIANO in the lobby, waterfalls, and other hotel like ammenities. While the hospital management has there hearts in the right place, there brains are far gone. My shift now includes being a scripted robot - Welcome to our unit, How can I help you? I have time!

The reality of healthcare is - I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME! I have 6 or 7 patients to care for. I have meds to pass. I have my assessments to complete. I have HOURS or charting ahead of me. I have to comply with the latest JCAHO crap and HIPAA laws.

When is enough going to be enough? I don't mind if the patient has visitors, But PLEASE let me do my job. The patients safety and comfort is more important than that of the visitors. The visitors go home, my patients are hospitalized. I do not have the time (or patience) for hourly rounding/hourly charting on all of my patients. According to our nurse manager, If a patient has to use there call bell -we have failed them (Is She included in that failure aswell)?

Often times patients and there visitors are told inaccurate information by the receptionists, Pre-Admission Testing, and other such departments. They are told that we the nursing staff will provide turndown service, a mint on the pillow and private rooms.....Not in this lifetime. What thy get is a reality check of 3 or 4 beds in a room, a shower down the hall, and Q2 hour vital signs. Even if you do get a few winks of sleep, you need constant monitoring - thats why you are here. This is not a hotel for rest.

Planetree may seem nice and it is up to a certain point. But htere are lines and limits.

[coffee4metech]

I saw your other post you work at a SDA hospital well enough said its just going to get worst they are all natural on there approach of life and religious practices. Save yourself the grief and get job where you can actually function as a nurse instead of a resort hostess. I have nothing against SDAs but I know alot I dated a SDA guy and it wasn't good.

[zuzi]

Hey AbbaKing, the concept of Planetree hospital is a awesome one, and personally I wished to work on this type of environment... unfortunatelly as much I was able to pickup information about these type of facilities, the implementation is not all the times on the good way. Is not your fault is the managerial approach about. If you still belive in Planetree hospital... as much I personally belive in, please contact planetree organisation and talk with a consultant from there, they will be happy to receive your feedback. IS private, these people pay a lot of money, you work hard your ass and you belive in planetree concept if you are there... so speak out!

Will be ok.... take a breath...tell us about beautifull part to work there, and what feeback you received from corporation? Muah

[TakeTwoAspirin, MSN, RN, APRN]

I hear you abbaking. Although the concept of Planetree sounds wonderful, the additional burden on the staff can be enormous - often providing them with the "last straw". I left a Planetree hospital about 6 months after they introduced the program. Initially I was very excited about it, it sounds wonderful, but it just burned me out!

[ArwenEvenstar]

Ugh. Planetree. It sounds so wonderful in THEORY, but when the rubber hits the road, FORGET IT. As someone else said, we are nurses, NOT resort hostesses!!! And as another said, the additional burden on the staff can be enormous - often providing them with the "last straw"!!! These remarks are right on, in my opinion.

If when implementing Planetree, they also hired many extra nurses to cut the nurse to pt ratio in half, then maybe Planetree would work. But I simply could not assess pts, pass meds, monitor IV drips/cardiac rhythms/lab values, change dressings, deal with emergencies, and, oh in addition to all this sing, entertain, massage, and cook gourmet meals for my patients!! What am I, Wonder Woman?!?!? Some things, like deluxe hospital lobbies with waterfalls, grand piano and comfy couches may sound so nice, BUT, BUT....it makes the families forget they are in a HOSPITAL, and they instead think they are in a resort hotel. And their expectations go sky high, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Ya know, I left the hospital setting over 4 years ago for several reasons - one being the pts and families were excessively and increasingly demanding. I ran from the bedside screaming. Excessive burnout after about 14 yrs as a hospital nurse. And now that I think of it, PLANETREE was implemented a couple years before I left. I never really put two and two together, but as another post said, I believe that this created the LAST STRAW for me.

Quote; "According to our nurse manager, If a patient has to use there call bell -we have failed them." GOOD GRIEF!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep, hearing things like this confirms for me that I did the right thing leaving the hospital setting over 4 years ago. I will never go back.

[keithjones]

hospitals want the positive results these programs bring but cut corners on staffing. 1:4 nurses and 1:6 CNAs and its all good, 1:7 nurses and 1:10 CNAs and its hell on the staff! find the reccomended staffing levels for the program and call foul on administration for not sticking to it!

[keithjones]

I did some research and planetree boasts low nurse to patient ratios as a key tenet. too bad the planetree model also allows hospitals to adopt whatever portions of the model that fit their community (read by administrators as: force all the new services you are offering off on nurses instead of hiring new staff such as massage therapists, chefs, entertainment coordinators, etc.) wanting a hospital experience to feel more like a resort visit is not a bad thing, BUT IT COSTS MORE MONEY! anyone looking at the planetree model need to realize that its success lies in making patient AND staff experiences better, which results in low staff turnover and more patients choosing you over the competition. this is the luxury hotel profit model vs the microtel model, profits through higher cost vs profits through cutting corners.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

We have a planetree hospital in the area -- and the nurses I know hate it. They see $$$ being spent on visual "fluff" while they contend with 15 year old IV pumps, computers that don't work (when they can find one) and they are cutting nursing staff to fund the "piano bar hospital" concept.

But hey, if it looks good, who cares if the patient's IV pump malfunctions and dumps a heparin bolus on them because they haven't been paying for maintenance on the equipment? The body will be wheeled down very attractive hallways on the way to the morgue....

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I work in a magnet hospital that believes in doing all that we can do. But you are right, there are limits. Hourly rounding is doable IF you have extra help--a care tech, CNA, etc.,

Turndown service?

Hm....don't think so....

[zuzi]

Managerial problem only!

[dionnedillon]

i think it is so sad that management makes all these promises to patients and family members at the nurses expense. No one ever talks about lower nurse patient ratios.

[nmgobos3]

the hospital that I work at has become a Planetree hospital in the last year and have started to implement some of the smaller ammenities such as pet therapy, 24 hour visiting, cookie baking(which my unit attempted to take over from the "cookie lady", that lasted all of a month", now the real scary stuff is coming, open medical records. I work on a medsurg floor,neuroscienc/primary stroke center unit, spinal surgery,all of the above depending on what type of pts. they want to admit, i really don't have time to "make an appointment" with my pts. to sit down and go through the chart and have to defer them most of the time to the dr. anyway and them if they want their chart ammended or dispute some accuracy apparently they have the right to do so. We, are lucky enough to have nurse manager who does realize how hard we all bust our asses and that 95% of this stuff is not going to be feasable without a lower staff ratio like 4:1 on days, i mean we barely have enough staff to cover our floor now, let alone give hand massage and review pt. charts. i've been trying to go through and find out staffing ratios at other planetree facilities, since most of you that have posted either work or have worked at one if you would be kind enough to post your ratios, i would appreciate it. thanks