Some nurses are performing janitor duties in their hospitals because of Coronavirus

[A Hit With The Ladies, BSN, RN]

Read this:

https://www.propublica.org/article/this-hospital-has-only-8-nurses-they-are-also-the-janitors

Didn't Vanderbilt's hospital once try to do the same thing with their nurses several years ago? I can't believe nurses put up with this!

[HandsOffMySteth]

As if nurses are not busy enough already...

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

This is a 25 bed bankrupt Critical Access Community Hospital that is only operating it's ED--- the nurses are trying to save it for bankruptcy sale but with the virus, buyer has now backed out as "Surgeon planning on buying hospital does not have enough funds to run the hospital." It's an hour ride to next hospital per article. This is what rural RN's often will do to save their facility.

[guest1146168]

45 minutes ago, NRSKarenRN said:

This is a 25 bed bankrupt Critical Access Community Hospital that is only operating it's ED--- the nurses are trying to save it for bankruptcy sale but with the virus, buyer has now backed out as "Surgeon planning on buying hospital does not have enough funds to run the hospital." It's an hour ride to next hospital per article. This is what rural RN's often will do to save their facility.

Exactly right. These people likely have children and homes they own (and quite possibly are staring at an underwater mortgage in the near future). Picking up and going somewhere else is easy if you're single and renting. Otherwise not so much.

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

The steaming s*** river of stupidity that is to take a highly trained medical professionals away from monitoring critically ill patients to perform the labor intensive housekeeping duties (when we have tirelessly dedicated, hardworking environmental/cleaning staff to help with this) is not a new concept at ALL.

My first nursing job (10+++ years ago) was in one of the largest, most prominent acute care hospitals in Toronto, ON CA. Guess which one? Even a decade +++ ago, this same hospital used to routinely cut back on environmental and nursing aid staff on the weekends. So any poor nursing souls working on the weekends would have to strip beds, empty garbages, empty linen carts, drag linen bags to the laundry chute, clear food trays, sometimes even do laundry, etc...

To do this during a freaking pandemic is beyond tasteless... I'm just, I honestly don't know what to feel. I would really love to invite the execs making these decisions over to my family's beach property so I could push those useless slugs off the nearby cliff.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Quote

So any poor nursing souls working on the weekends would have to strip beds, empty garbages, empty linen carts, drag linen bags to the laundry chute, clear food trays, sometimes even do laundry, etc...

I routinely striped beds, empty linen carts, drag linen bags to the laundry chute; cleared food trays + emptied garbages @ times on my 14 bed telemtry/respiratory unit in 80's -90's --- often performed each shift shift along with patient assessments, monitoring telemetry screens + vented patients, running codes, transporting coded patient to CCU/morgue. On nights: add counting meds in patients bin and reordering nightly, checking crash cart, assisting with chest tube insertions, Preparing IV solutions: adding KCL, insulin to IV bag; changing alcohol in glass thermometer holders, steam cleaning bedpans; bedbound patient- tried to get 1 bath in at 5:30A if not a crazy night. Middle shift even gave backrub as part of HS care.

?

[chare]

2 hours ago, CaffeinePOQ4HPRN said:

The steaming s*** river of stupidity that is to take a highly trained medical professionals away from monitoring critically ill patients to perform the labor intensive housekeeping duties (when we have tirelessly dedicated, hardworking environmental/cleaning staff to help with this) is not a new concept at ALL.

[...]

Did you read the article?

[CaffeinePOQ4HPRN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

27 minutes ago, chare said:

Did you read the article?

Yes, I don't agree that the onus of operating an entire facility in addition to ensuring direct care is available should ever fall mostly onto the shoulders of healthcare workers.... and continuing to do so only enables this BS to continue. This is just an example of the gov't systematically not ensuring healthcare to remote or underserved communities. It's criminal.

[HiddenAngels]

No, no, no, not a housekeeping hat too now..?

[Emergent, RN]

Hospitals are closing all over the United States. This has been a quiet crisis that hasn't gotten a lot of press attention. The healthcare system is straining under the weight of bureaucracy, billing requirements, unfunded government mandates, and high overhead. It's very expensive to run. I think we will see an even bigger calamity in the near future.

[lifelearningrn, BSN, RN]

Those are some dedicated nurses. "Other duties as assigned" in at-will states makes this all possible.

[toomuchbaloney]

1 hour ago, Emergent said:

Hospitals are closing all over the United States. This has been a quiet crisis that hasn't gotten a lot of press attention. The healthcare system is straining under the weight of bureaucracy, billing requirements, unfunded government mandates, and high overhead. It's very expensive to run. I think we will see an even bigger calamity in the near future.

Single payer with all Americans covered would improve the economic out look of most hospitals, especially small rural facilities. No more unpaid care. They would need a fraction of the billing and oversight staff currently required to make sure they aren't ripped off by insurers.