"Don't Send Anyone Out!"

[TheCommuter]

I'm a newer LVN and employed as a weekend-double shift nurse at an upscale nursing home. My weekend RN supervisor has a happy-go-lucky, coolly unconcerned personality. He unrelentlessly picks on some nurses but tends to leave me alone.

He has made it crystal clear that we are to refrain from sending any resident to the hospital unless they are extremely ill. His reasoning is monetary: if a resident spends one week in the hospital being evaluated and treated, then the nursing home will lose one week's worth of money from that resident. Private-room residents pay $6,900 monthly and semi-private residents pay $4,600 monthly. This seems fishy and unethical to me. I usually will send a sick resident out because I want no person to die or worsen under my care. Any thoughts or comments on this issue?

[ktwlpn, LPN]

[quote=speckleddove-------When the state asked the midnight nurse why, she replied the supplies were never delivered and the DON knew this but never bought the supplies.

The DON wanted her fired for telling the truth.------ Dayummmm Do you know what ever happened to that nurse? There are whistle blower laws to protect us but that kind of stuff is hard to prove and legal represenatation takes moeny-which you don't have after you've been fired....In my experince when we have been questioned or observed by DOH investigators anything we say or do is kept confidential.It's a good size facility but we still always find out who passed meds and screwed up....However when staff were questioned a few yrs ago about some long-standing environmental concerns numerous co-workers of mine said "Well-it's been like that as long as I've worked here" ( Bless their cajones.) But to the administrators credit there was not even a whisper of retaliation.The problems ended up to be a multi million dollar fix and they just kept putting it off until the state stepped in....

[ktwlpn, LPN]

if a resident spends one week in the hospital being evaluated and treated, then the nursing home will lose one week's worth of money from that resident. Private-room residents pay $6,900 monthly and semi-private residents pay $4,600 monthly. This seems fishy QUOTE] I just realized something else-In the private pay homes I've worked in the residents still pay for their rooms when in hospital. No one else can be admitted to that room-it's belongs to the resident in hospital. They should continue to pay for it. Just like you would if you rented an apartment and were in the hospital for a week. Most places have bed hold policies-I wonder what yours is? I doubt that your supervisor knows what he is talking about...I'll have to ask tomorrow what ours is for our medicare and our (few) private pay residents.....

[speckleddove]

Oh, a few staff members made comments to me and said You had better watch your ^$$ on the way to your car tonight, that bad things happen to certain nurses in the parking lot.

I got the hint by the words and faces they made at me.

I was 45 miles from where I lived and had no clue where to locate a cop in that area if I needed one. It was not a nice area to be in even in the day time. But Money drew me in there.

I seen why I was offered so much but nearly too late.