I took me mom out for her birthday to a fairly nice resturant for lunch. Sitting behind us were a fairly well dressed man and woman about my age. I overheard a conversation that I didn't expect to hear in a public place. The man said to the woman, "People have to get used to the idea that healthcare is a business. One of the techniques that businesses use to cut cost is to jetison long time workers with high salaries. Some people think that is inhuman but it is a perfectly acceptable business practice, the business of business is to make money." She said "surely you don't mean my facility?" He said, "yes I mean your facility!" She protested that they had high turnover as it was. He said "yes that is a good thing about nursing homes and hospitals, they experience a fairly rapid turnover and it keeps wages down. However, there is always the odd employee that stays on for years and they are the ones you have to target." At that point I made a gagging noise and said to my mom, "come on mom, I have lost my appetite". Now this happened last Thursday and I didn't post it until today because I have been wondering if people would believe me. First of all, I know these conversation take place but I assumed they took place behind closed doors. Second of all, what is the chance of a person as radical as I am overhearing something like this, I could hardly believe it myself. A 100 nasty remarks came into my mind but I said nothing because it would have made a seen and they would have probably called the cops. I swear I heard this conversation and I tried to repeat it here word for word, they did not name any names.
This happens ALL the time. It's called age discrimination!!! My mom was let go for the same reasons. The hospital was having financial problems and their solution was to get rid of all the old-timers there. Funny how in all these scenarios NONE of the folks in upper management cut their salaries or lay off their ancillary ppl. People with titles that you have NO idea what they do-much less what they get paid.
I have learned also that dedication and committment to a hospital does not protect you from getting shafted. Unions are only as helpful as the people you have placed in their positions.
Did your mom eventually end up with a better position at a better place? I have talked to so many people who felt very badly about getting shafted like that at the time. However, in the long run they were happier and did better than the people that did not get let go. In other words the conditions were so bad after the downsizing that the people who were left go turned out to be the lucky ones.
I really think that some of this is just having people around who will be loyal to the newer management, who aren't pining for the old days when things were easier and nurses didn't have to do xyz. In addition, young people are just so much cuter, and the American public likes young and cute.
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
I strongly believe this is happening on my unit. But because we're unionized, the administration has had to resort to making working conditions so unpleasant that the senior staff nurses are quitting. What's really scary is that we're a quaternary care PICU and the only one of our caliber for thousands of miles. It makes me crazy thinking about how they're endangering children's lives and futures and potentially destroying families. But at the same time, I'm losing hope that things can be repaired enough to make me want to stay there. That makes me sad. And a little ashamed.
Why bother with that when you can ship all your work overseas...
I wonder what we are going to do in this country when there is no one left working...
DH and I both los our systems jobs in 2002, after they were shipped overseas. I went back to school, became a nurse, lasted a year on the floor, and am now in informatics.
If they ship off this job they still have old, sick people here. But man, do I hate the floor.
I took me mom out for her birthday to a fairly nice resturant for lunch. Sitting behind us were a fairly well dressed man and woman about my age. I overheard a conversation that I didn't expect to hear in a public place. The man said to the woman, "People have to get used to the idea that healthcare is a business. One of the techniques that businesses use to cut cost is to jetison long time workers with high salaries. Some people think that is inhuman but it is a perfectly acceptable business practice, the business of business is to make money." She said "surely you don't mean my facility?" He said, "yes I mean your facility!" She protested that they had high turnover as it was. He said "yes that is a good thing about nursing homes and hospitals, they experience a fairly rapid turnover and it keeps wages down. However, there is always the odd employee that stays on for years and they are the ones you have to target." At that point I made a gagging noise and said to my mom, "come on mom, I have lost my appetite". Now this happened last Thursday and I didn't post it until today because I have been wondering if people would believe me. First of all, I know these conversation take place but I assumed they took place behind closed doors. Second of all, what is the chance of a person as radical as I am overhearing something like this, I could hardly believe it myself. A 100 nasty remarks came into my mind but I said nothing because it would have made a seen and they would have probably called the cops. I swear I heard this conversation and I tried to repeat it here word for word, they did not name any names.
I guess I don't understand why you're shocked, or think that we wouldn't believe it, or that this is new.
While we as nurses hate the fact that healthcare is run as a business, the reality is that it IS a business. Of course there is little incentive for profitable companies to seek to keep people past their "expiration date": that is, the time in which they've earned the highest profit margin for the company. At some point, the financial administrators see people who are at the top of the earnings scale as liabilities, not assets, period.
You may have lost your appetite, but the reality is, healthcare companies do not value their most experienced employees any more than any other business does theirs. Our value system is screwed up. And that's the truth.
This happens ALL the time. It's called age discrimination!!! My mom was let go for the same reasons. The hospital was having financial problems and their solution was to get rid of all the old-timers there. Funny how in all these scenarios NONE of the folks in upper management cut their salaries or lay off their ancillary ppl. People with titles that you have NO idea what they do-much less what they get paid.
I have learned also that dedication and committment to a hospital does not protect you from getting shafted. Unions are only as helpful as the people you have placed in their positions.
It isn't age discrimination, not as long as hospitals will hire 40 year old new grads into orientation positions. There are LOTS and LOTS of people who start out in nursing nowadays well into their thirties, and beyond, and facilities hire them. Clearly they are only minimally experienced by the time they get to the same age as those senior nurses who started out at age 18. So they can't be accused of age discrimination, only in culling the more "expensive" staff from their ranks. Meaning, of course, the ones with the most experience, who are also usually older people. But that doesn't qualify as age discrimination by any means.
Suesquatch: totally off topic, but I noticed your "Barack" is Swahili for "That One" signature line and had to add that "Barak" is a Hebrew name meaning 'lightning'. :) Tidbits of useless info are my life, LOL....
What about places that are supposed to be not for profit?
A not-for-profit, faith based hospital I work at laid off 70 people last year, and 100 people this month. No bedside positions were *technically* cut, however OT is very limited due to the budget. Supplies are "on order", support services like housekeeping and lab have longer turn around times due to less manpower, etc, etc. All management says is "the budget" but they just don't see that having less staff at the bedside and less staff doing "behind the scenes" work affects what we do. It's just one more patient we have to take because "the budget" won't allow a flex RN to cover a call-out. It's that much longer for our ED and PACU patients to get a bed assignment when there are less housekeepers. It's that much longer to get those critcal lab values when one person is spinning the tubes.
Anyways, to address the OP....the majority of the people laid off by the organization have been higher-ups with a lot of seniority. I guess they cost too much and administration figures why not parcel out their jobs to cheaper labor?
Knlck on wood,but my ltc facilitiy feels that res's loved ones feel more comfortable seeing the same faces all the time. The average age of nurses is is 50 ish, most have been ther at least 10 yrs. Also, they know that when family members are well aquainted w/ nurses they are comfortable with:) , they are less upset, if a mistake is made, which we all know the worse case scenario on that!
oramar
5,758 Posts
Did your mom eventually end up with a better position at a better place? I have talked to so many people who felt very badly about getting shafted like that at the time. However, in the long run they were happier and did better than the people that did not get let go. In other words the conditions were so bad after the downsizing that the people who were left go turned out to be the lucky ones.