Question. Please help.

[ddeckerlvn]

I have a question for all hospice nurses. I recently started working for a hospice company and was "laid off" via text message on Tuesday of this week. It was my first hospice experience and have to say it will probably be my last due to this particular agency. It is a small, RN owned company with 7 patients. I was with the RN (owner) for a week before and did not receive good training. This agency has had a huge turnover rate with her losing about 4 employees since I started working there. Well, since I had worked with this RN owner at another company prior, I started working for her. She was in need of another RN and the one she hired, she did not like and always bad mouthed her to me saying this RN was a horrible nurse. So she let her go as well. I have a "friend" who is a LVN but has 10 years experience in hospice so I knew she would be a good fit for her. The RN is scheduled for her survey on Tuesday next week and she is so unorganized. She has IDG's that have not been done since at least February. Long story short, my "friend" got mad at me and quit the job after one week. I was laid off this week saying that her consultant recommended her RN friend help her through survey. Come to find out, she let me go so she could bring my friend back. Now I suspect she is doing what she was doing before. All those IDG's that were not done, RN is having the LVN do them and backdate them under her name in the computer. I suspect that she is also having the LVN do all her recerts and will have her do any admissions that come up as she has told me that is what she is wanting. I also suspect that LVN is doing all her charting for her too as lvn is much better at charting. Like I said, her survey is due Tuesday. Is this even legal? Is there something I can do? I feel like there is some kind of fraud going on here. Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.

[caliotter3]

Once worked with an LVN who was doing admission assessments and an RN was signing them. Yes, illegal, but, what are you going to do? You can complain to the state, medicare, or whatever agency is responsible, but everyone will know it was you. You will not be doing yourself any good reputation-wise, in a small community. But then, you won't get a good reference anyway. I would concentrate on getting your next job if I were you. Let the LVN worry about complaining. If she likes the set-up and being used, more power to her. She knows what is legal and what is not. If she agrees, then, when something comes down, she can't blame anyone but herself for taking advantage of the situation.

[momisam]

I think you should thank your lucky stars that you are no longer with this agency. Surveyors have been through the process enough times that they are likely to catch what is going on...most computer programs leave a time stamp as to when items are entered...it's not just the time and date you put in. It will likely be obvious when all this documentation is entered at once. In any event I sincerely doubt the viability of this agency so just be glad you are no longer a part of it.