I have heard by the grapevine that the Hunter Group will be coming to the hospital at which I'm currently working. :angryfire :stone
Having been thru this once already, I can hardly wait. :uhoh21:
I'd like to keep working for 6-8 more years; this hospital is so convenient--~10mi from home, no commute traffic, lass intense level II nursery--just perfect. I hope they don't mess up my plans, but guess I should figure out a "plan B".
I'm just disgusted. You'd think after this long, the jig would be up with those folks, and hospitals wouldn't hire them any more.
By the way, they changed their name--they are now part of "Navigent".
Had experience with the Studer group. I agree with all they said - as far as economics goes. But in a hospital we are charged with caring about people, and that is where the economics does not match up with practice. Our business is not like a factory (even though it may seem like it). I don't have the answers, but they don't seem to either.
Oh my gosh!!! The Hunter Group was hired at Pacific Presbyterian Medical Center in San Francisco about 15 years ago. In my previous postings--when I was sharing about how people were laid off without notice just before Christmas--it was due to this group. They reorganized the whole hospital. Nurses were called in one at time to "bid" on jobs--(not even necessarily the one you were in)--you had to have on the spot anwers-decisions--and that's if you just weren't laid off. They recommended outsourcing the entire physical therapy department. IT WAS DISASTROUS. If memory serves CPMC had to start a whole new department from scratch because it was such a bad move--I think after just one to two years. They came to Visiting Nurses and Hospice which was also a part of CPMC as totally ruined it. The place has NEVER been the same since because of all the bad blood. THIS IS VERY BAD NEWS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION. These people have their eyes on the BOTTOM LINE and nothing else; and look--even though they've been SOOOO OFF BASE ON THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE PAST--ORGANIZATIONS CONTINUE TO HIRE THEM!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?? TALK ABOUT THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD. I personally met with several of them since I was in administration at the time. THEY ARE SELF PERPETUATING SUITS WHO HAVE NO VESTED INTEREST IN QUALITY OF CARE OR THE OVERALL WELL-BEING OF THE ORGANIZATION. THEY PICK UP THEIR PAYCHECKS AND IT'S ON TO THE NEXT ORGANIZATION. THOSE PAYCHECKS ARE CONSIDERABLE BY THE WAY. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU---I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT YOU WILL NEED IT.
I wonder if their is any evidence that groups like this do anything to actually reduce healthcare spending. I doubt it. Most likely all they do is transfer funds that should be going to care of patients to their own pockets.
Another similar group to this is called the "Delta Group. They came into our department and made recommendations that would cut our staff down from 3 full time and 2 part-time RN's to 1.5 RN's. Hmmm....the existing staff barely has time to pee, can you explain to me how we can do all of this with 1.5 persons.
The laughable part is that they NEVER even came to our unit on a patient care day (cardiac rehab meets only three days per week) and the "expert" they employed to critique our unit had done cardiac rehab TWELVE years ago. Right.
We have studer now. last year we had SOYRING and now we have the MATRIX (which is impossibly short staffing) and remember the movie, the Matrix is where the evil people lived!!! any other experiences with the Matrix.
You have my deepest sympathies, Wolfie...........once those efficiency 'experts' start tinkering around with a hospital, things start going down the toilet really fast.
We had Cardinal come in 2 years ago. They're another group that's famous---or should I say notorious?---for helping hospitals to slash costs by recommending the elimination of 'extra' staffing (like PRN/admit nurses and adequate numbers of CNAs) and encouraging administrators to 'ease out' the nurses who are older and/or have been there longer. Looking back now, I think that was the beginning of the end for me........even though I was on the committee dedicated to testing the recommendations and providing input on how they worked. I'd planned on working at that hospital until I was ready to retire or semi-retire, but the changes implemented made it impossible for me (and indeed many of us) to keep up. Sure, the hospital is operating in the black now........but at what cost in quality of care and the health of remaining staff?
When I went back to visit yesterday, I realized just how haggard everybody looks, and how unhappy they all seem to be. Most of my former co-workers used to be cheerful, upbeat people who loved their work, even if it did get really crazy at times; when I left there, it was crazy ALL the time, and had been for over a year, and now even my former manager has lost her spark. Nobody smiles anymore; nobody even looks particularly healthy---their faces are a sickly sallow color, several of them have gained large amounts of weight, and others who were thin to start with look almost cachectic. And all I heard was, "You're lucky you left when you did---it's even worse now".
While I'm glad I escaped total ruination, I feel bad for the staff, the overwhelming majority of whom are good people and damned fine nurses. But these 'efficiency' companies couldn't care less about them........Cardinal made over $1 million 'working' with the hospitals in our system, and now the system is literally hemorrhaging nurses, yet there is a hiring freeze on. Go figure.:angryfire
I just read the earlier portions of this thread because I was sent the latest. This particular posting REALLY hit home. It occurs to me, that this would be my observation of NURSING in general; your finding of the staff members you'd left behind looking haggard and unhappy. I am sorry to say that this is my finding IN GENERAL. I personally believe that most hospitals are operating in such a way that the nurses are working themselves into the ground. 40 hrs a week working at the pace and intensity that we do is just not healthy. Enter an efficiency group whose job it is to cut costs, and are so uncreative that they go to the largest dollar outlay which is nursing (because we do the actual pt care duuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh) and cut costs there. These groups do this with very little observation, or with manipulation of data; don't tend to to leave room for the human factor. I have been floated to a med/surg before where all my pts spoke a different language (San Francisco) and NO I AM NOT EXAGERATING, and three of my elderly pts were confused and combative. I had a total of 5 pts which for them was a good ratio (I am an ICU/ER nurse--OUCH!!) I was asked to do some data collection at the beginning of this shift an the computer--I forgot what they called it; but this was standard procedure for them--the data was supposed to assess the acuity of your load--BASICALLY CYA for the hospital I think; anyway the questions were worded in such a way that it DID NOT IN ANY WAY capture the acuity of my pt load. That's what I mean by manipulating data. That was a nightmare shift--after one other such FLOAT to the floor--I transferred to the ER. I WILL NEVER WORK ANOTHER SHIFT OUTSIDE OF THE UNIT OR THE ER AGAIN. I tip my hat off to all y'all working your back sides off; I do too, I just think I am allowed a much safer work environment.
Our hospital has Press Ganey also. We have to wear these stupid "Strive For Five" attachments on our I.D. badges. And it's really a load of laughs trying to explain that to some of the patients :angryfire
I take pride in caring for my patients and I do a good job. However, my Strive For Five "fell off" after mgt left the floor. They also try to make us wear "Is There Anthing More I Can Do For You? "I Have The Time." ribbons :barf01:
The weekly scoring results from our Press-Ganey are posted in the bathroom! Sometimes a potty break is the only 5 minutes of peace you get- I certainly don't want to spend it reading about more ways to improve the scores.
Couldn't you guys just refuse to wear the ribbons and slogans. Don't you find that a little demoralizing? Do they have the MDs in your organization wear those ribbons too? Gag me!! My--RN--designation is the only slogan I feel like wearing to work--I too take great pride in the job I do and I do it VERY WELL--I would resent being given the --Wal Mart--slogan ribbons.
Couldn't you guys just refuse to wear the ribbons and slogans. Don't you find that a little demoralizing? Do they have the MDs in your organization wear those ribbons too? Gag me!! My--RN--designation is the only slogan I feel like wearing to work--I too take great pride in the job I do and I do it VERY WELL--I would resent being given the --Wal Mart--slogan ribbons.
I don't openly refuse. I take the ribbons and then promptly manage to "lose" them. Last year, I took one and on the other side I wrote "How Much More Can I Kiss Your Butt". The director of the Human Resources accidently saw it and wasn't impressed.
Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
"Last year, I took one and on the other side I wrote "How Much More Can I Kiss Your Butt". The director of the Human Resources accidently saw it and wasn't impressed. ;)"
YOU are someone I would love to work with!!!!!!!!!
Couldn't you guys just refuse to wear the ribbons and slogans. Don't you find that a little demoralizing? Do they have the MDs in your organization wear those ribbons too? Gag me!! My--RN--designation is the only slogan I feel like wearing to work--I too take great pride in the job I do and I do it VERY WELL--I would resent being given the --Wal Mart--slogan ribbons.
I wish someone would come in to work their shift wearing one of those blue vests. It's the same concept, isn't it? Let's just go all the way!
I don't openly refuse. I take the ribbons and then promptly manage to "lose" them. Last year, I took one and on the other side I wrote "How Much More Can I Kiss Your Butt". The director of the Human Resources accidently saw it and wasn't impressed.
Would she had rather you used the more anatomically correct word "buttocks", instead?
I could think of another word...which would be justifiably appropriate
for the Hunter Group and others, who need to be shut down and given a taste
of their own medicine. Let them be put out of their jobs and
YOU are someone I would love to work with!!!!!!!!!
purplemania, BSN, RN
2,617 Posts
Had experience with the Studer group. I agree with all they said - as far as economics goes. But in a hospital we are charged with caring about people, and that is where the economics does not match up with practice. Our business is not like a factory (even though it may seem like it). I don't have the answers, but they don't seem to either.