Telling "STATE" you don't have supplies....

[nervousnurse]

Hi, I've only been in LTC/SNF 7 months, and thank GOODNESS, I was off when STATE was there.....I am hearing horror stories!

One of my friends "got in trouble" from our DON because she told an inspector she was out of a certain supply........UMM--that's just the TRUTH!!!! What ELSE could she have said. She HAD to cover herself, and explain WHY she absolutely could NOT perform a simple procedure. Most importantly, if the vulnerable resident could have been at risk because of the lack of supplies, WHAT choice did she have but to tell the State person there weren't any?!?!!

How do the "suits" where you work handle it when they find out you told a State Surveyor the truth about something negative such as not having a supply???

**Oh, and slightly off topic, but it made me LOL that they suddenly had all of our housekeeping staff help us pass trays----seriously???? Like State is going to believe this happens ALL THE TIME? I like what someone else said about this on another thread--yes, even our secretary helps pass trays.....our teamwork is THAT good, every day....(don't we WISH!)

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

Maybe I've been lucky to only work in good places or maybe it's because I demand, yes that is the word, demand that there are always supplies for all the residents. If I had a resident on Hospice who needed supplies and the Hospice company didn't provide them, I'd be having a conversation with the Hospice manager and the resident's family....after I was sure the resident got what they needed.

I have a very good central supply person. Not only is she on top of daily par levels, she'll go to Sam's Club or WalMart or Uncle Billy Bob's 10 cent store to get what we need if we run out.

[NurseGuyBri]

I think what it comes down to for me is that if you told state you didnt have a supply, is this the first time? Have you always been short on supplies? If so, did you tell management then and they did nothing? If so, then that's their fault. Yes, you can get in trouble, but that's not a good way to manage things. Don't wait until state is in the building to talk about all the problems. Right now, in my facility, my nurses like to keep things to themselves until it gets bad, DONT DO IT!! Not all managers won't listen, but sometimes you have to get up and say it because we, too, are overwhelmed often.

If you are always short on supplies and no one has been helping you after telling management, then let it be known to whoever will listen, but be prepared to take the insult in the end.

If this is the first time you didnt have it and you looked for it, you dont have much choice.

I just beg that you remember that as hard as a CNA, LPN, RN job is, your management staff isn't immune to stress and overwork.

It kills me that so many people on the floor say that "management does nothing" or "they're lazy". Always give the benefit of the doubt until you KNOW!!

[NurseGuyBri]

RNFaster, that's horrible! I would have left that facility too, that is not something that LTC always does though. Try not to group us all together to get out of "LTC". All areas have their problems, even ERs and acute care, but they're not all the same. It undermines those of us who are trying to make a difference in LTC, however ridiculous that road may be.

I totally agree that that group of management is horrible if they do that just to show face and lie to state. Our facility is working hard at a "State Ready Year Round" feeling, not just to appease state, but to try and uphold as much as we can of the regulations while providng care. It is unfortunate, however, that as one of the most regulated businesses in the world (LTC), those regulations are the same ones that prevent us from giving excellent care at times.

[Guest757854]

RNFaster, that's horrible! I would have left that facility too, that is not something that LTC always does though. Try not to group us all together to get out of "LTC". All areas have their problems, even ERs and acute care, but they're not all the same. It undermines those of us who are trying to make a difference in LTC, however ridiculous that road may be.

I totally agree that that group of management is horrible if they do that just to show face and lie to state. Our facility is working hard at a "State Ready Year Round" feeling, not just to appease state, but to try and uphold as much as we can of the regulations while providng care. It is unfortunate, however, that as one of the most regulated businesses in the world (LTC), those regulations are the same ones that prevent us from giving excellent care at times.

WELL SAID!!!!!

[Interpolfan89]

If you are running a facility, and are unaware of being out of supplies, then it sounds like you're not talking to your staff.

[Pat_Pat RN]

This may not be EVERYWHERE, but I've worked at 3 different facilities locally and they were all that way. It also seems that almost everyone else commenting here finds things are this way. So, I'd say this is the NORM for this segment of nursing.

[casi, ASN, RN]

I work in a facility that I feel is really well stocked. We have a very active TCU so things change a lot and PARs need to change frequently so we do run out of items. Our ADON who does that stocking makes sure that staff knows to leave her a voicemail if we are running out of something. It's really impractical to expect her to be talking to the staff and asking about this frequently. If she were to walk up to me daily and ask me while I was working a med cart, she'd probably get a blank stare because I was working a med cart.

Communication about these things is a two way street. If you are a floor nurse and you run out of an item you need to talk to who is stocking or even above that person stocking to get what you need. Nursing management hasn't quite yet mastered the art of mind reading.

[VANurse2010]

Did you tell the managers you had no supplies or did you expect them to read your mind? I run a large facility. There is no way I would know if we were short supplies unless someone told me. You need to take some responsibility.

It's not the floor nurses responsibility to keep the facility supplied. Where's your supply coordinator?

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

It's not the floor nurses responsibility to keep the facility supplied. Where's your supply coordinator?

It IS the floor nurse's responsibility to tell whomever does the supplies that they are in short supply. Not every facility has a supply coordinator.

[duskyjewel]

Isn't it also just natural? As in, "Hey boss, I don't have XYZ which I need for ABC on Patients W, T, and F. When can we expect to get more?"

[ktwlpn, LPN]

I'm enjoying the differing opinions on this thread.The staff working the floors are experiencing frustration-it's hard when you are juggling the demands of a busy unit and don't have everything you need to complete your tasks. Hunting down missing supplies takes a lot of time away from the people who need you the most.

Par levels should NOT be cut so close to the bone for these non-perishable items that you are running put of them frequently .I work in a 250 bed facility, we have a nursing supply person and unit clerks. The clerks are responsible for weekly ordering of supplies. Some of them are better at the job then others. Our supply guy decided "tight inventory control " was best obtained by cutting par levels so low we came very close to running out of straight cath kits and foley drainage bags. One email to the DON fixed that.

[studentnursemon86]

If the state inspector asked; I wouldn't lie. However, where I work we have a supply tech who orders supplies. If we are low or out of something, people let him/her know. They usually order them before we run out since they check the inventory 5 days a week. We also have hospital stock and worst case, we get what we need from another unit.

The main thing we run out of anymore are turkey sandwiches, which is usually the end of the world to our repeat visitors.