gooseylucy (anonymous) says...

I agree Marianne. The LPN's at NRH have many, many years of service and experience. I would trust their care much more than some of the "traveling RN's" that the hospital has hired in the past and are currently hiring again now. (At a much higher rate of pay, I might add.)

The LPN's are quickly being forced out of the hospital or into other non-nursing postions, as we speak. There are very few left in nursing positions now. How very sad!! Many have left to work in other towns. I wonder how long until they move to those towns?

Come on Emporia, speak up!! This is still YOUR hospital. Let NRH Admin, Board Members, your Physician know how you feel about this. This is such a bad move for our hospital and our town. Let your voices be heard!!

December 31, 2009 at 3:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

sandman (anonymous) says...

Very nicely put!! My question is: since we have the LPN school in town, how can we continue to ask students to go when there is absolutely no job opportunities locally? We also have the RN training at ESU, but it is known that MANY of those students, when they graduate, move on. Really doesn't make sense not to utilize what we have available, such as the LPN's.

December 31, 2009 at 4:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

scarlett01_98 (anonymous) says...

i usually don't post, but i do read the online opinions. i know i'm gonna look stoopid,but ummm what did i miss? who insulted the lpn's? can i call call someone?
i would like for everyone who is insulting the nurses, to get to know a dear woman that i have the honor of knowing. she once, all but ran newman hospital. she ran the ob dept, radiology dept, physical therapy dept and was the d.o.n. she did it all with grace , humility, and care. this " well aged " woman still has sparkling blue eyes and a beautiful smile. i'm not going to give her name but anyone who knows her, knows who i'm writing about. forcing out lpn's is not the right way to handle things. the point is maybe the the current management should take a look at her way of supervising. maybe they could learn a few things. or someone could maybe post a phone number so i could talk to someone. ; )

December 31, 2009 at 6:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

shotdemducks (anonymous) says...

Some Dr's in this town that know so much should go before the LPN's.

December 31, 2009 at 7:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...

Some ducks need doctors because someone has been shooting dem.

R.

December 31, 2009 at 7:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

knute (anonymous) says...

Scarlett, I looked these up for you:

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...

http://www.emporiagazette.com/news/20...

Read the articles and the comments which are pro & con. Personally, I find the idea foolish and nothing more than a move to make the hospital a snobbish mini-Mayo Clinic at the expense [pun intended] of the LPNs, the patients and the taxpayer. The hospital ended the year in the red [again] but an all-RN staff, RNs with hard earned degrees, to be paid at higher wages, is a really good idea? And LPNs aren't good enough for a lot of the day-to-day patient care?

I believe it's an insult to the LPNs and to everyone else who doesn't buy into this solution to a yet to be proven problem. The people trying to push this through have no lasting ties to this community - they are going to do whatever promotes their respective careers before they move on. And we'll be left holding the bag.

I can hear it now, "We got rid of those totally worthless LPNs and replaced all of them with RNs with many degrees. We even hired traveling (translation-VERY expensive) RNs. One of the locals supported me by calling the LPNs 'booger eaters' in a newspaper commentary section. Patient care became scarce because the few RNs and traveling RNs the hospital could afford to pay simply couldn't do everything but oh well."

January 1, 2010 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

scarlett01_98 (anonymous) says...

oh wow i have too many thoughts to put in only one place. to start i happen to know the lpn that gave the speech to the hospital staff. we have known each other for 14 years now. she is like a daughter to me. like i have posted before, i have always received the utmost professional care at nrh. the cna's, lpn's, rn's, tech's, and md's are some of the best. i usually end up being transfered, by ambulance to wichita, because my medical problems are beyond the capabilites of local md's. the rock star doc's, who came from cleveland clinic, saved my life several times. but, back to the subject, the initials behind the name have very little to do with the quality of care. i have seen some cna's who had more "smarts" than some bsn's. the bsn's were in different hospitals.... by the way and they almost killed me. the lpn's in newman are the best. the rn's are the best so are the cna's. like i've said before nrh isn't a mayo, and nrh needs the lpn's.
the other thought is, where will it stop? first the lpn's. then the 2 year rn's? then what about the bsn's? howabout making everyone a physician? then who will give routine care, toilets, showers and stuff?
however this just my opnion...
is there any way some one can contact me privately, to talk about this face to face? like real men or women?

January 1, 2010 at 5:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

nancynurse (anonymous) says...

Let's tell the whole story.....this is a national trend. NRH has really stepped up to be fair to all of the LPN's during this transition. Many have been offered day shift, M-F positions with the new doctors, no weekends, no holidays. Some have chosen to transition to unit clerks, where medical knowledge is essential. ALL have been offered full tuition reimbursement, and other positions at their same rate of pay.
No one has been laid off, as many hospitals making this transition have done.
There are many patient care positions for LPN's in Emporia- but patients needing acute care must be very ill to qualify for admisison, and insurance companies expect very short length of stays. What used to be done in 5-7 days per admission now must be accomplished in 2-4 days. Having higher trained nurses is one of the strategies to accomplish this. A highly trained RN with critical thinking skills paired with a CNA for bedside care is a legitimate care model that will provide the citiziens of Lyon and surrounding counties the quality care they deserve.

January 1, 2010 at 6:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

create (anonymous) says...

Hmmmm, you seem to have uncovered one of the very reasons why this country is embroiled in health care reform. "..insurance companies expect very short length of stays. What used to be done in 5-7 days per admission now must be accomplished in 2-4 days." Very true. I hope with the passage of a bill, we will no longer see these problems with forced and hurried diagnoses and care. Good comment, nancynurse.

January 1, 2010 at 6:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

seriouslyfolks (anonymous) says...

What about dem ducks? Who cares for dem? I saw on TV once a black duck with a white ring around his neck get shot in the face with a shotgun and all that happened to him was his bill circled around his head a couple of times and he had to put it back in place but that is only on TV and it is a LIE! Trust me. After seeing that on television, I tried it with one of my ducks and the results were not nearly that good for the duck. I can't talk about this anymore, you make me sad.

Happy New Year
R.

January 1, 2010 at 6:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

spectator (anonymous) says...

When this plan goes into effect, the RN will hang blood and start IVs and hook up the piggy-back meds and chart orders and monitor IVs and accompany the doctors on rounds and admit new patients and respond to call lights and call the doctor when necessary and explain procedure to the family of the patient and monitor intake & output and frequently check on the newly returned surgical patient etc etc. No doubt that RN works hard to earn that title but that one RN can not do everything and be everywhere all the time at the same time. God bless the RN but this is still a human being with limited super powers.

National trend makes for an interesting catch phrase but it reminds me of something my mother used to say. Just because so-and-so is allowed to jump off the bridge does not mean you can or that it's even a good idea.

I understand NRHC is encouraging LPN classes at FHTC and then the hospital will pay the difference for the new LPNs to become 2-year RNs? Just where is that money coming from?

How does this ratio work out - eliminate 3.5 LPNs so we can pay 2 RNs or 1 RN and 1.5 traveling RNs?

I agree with Knute. I haven't seen the hard and fast necessity of this yet. RN-only snobbery - the RNs with the degrees will be doing the things the present day RNs do. The 2-year RNs will be performing the tasks of the present day LPNs. And we will be paying the higher costs.

I had to be in an RN-only facility and the nursing care was horrrible because there just weren't enough RNs to go around. The one RN on the ward was not a good nurse. Overworked maybe, given the benefit of the doubt. My mother was in a different RN-only hospital and experienced problems of the same nature. The likely solution for both of our needs? Hire and schedule more RNs.

January 1, 2010 at 7:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

nancynurse (anonymous) says...

I agree. The RN should have no more than 4-8 patients, paired with a CNA- depending on the shift, and the needs of the patients.
LPN's can only work under the DIRECTION of an RN. So, as an RN, if I have my five patients, with my CNA, and have to also cover the 5 patients of the LPN, my 5 patients get less care per shift.
I have to provide the RN assessment, the IV meds, etc, etc, now for all 10 patients, not just my 5.
get it????

January 1, 2010 at 7:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Absolute (anonymous) says...

Research has shown that there are improved outcomes, decreases in mortality in acture care patients and increased job satisfaction with RNs. It is not personal to LPNs. Evidence based practice requires that we review the scientific information that is out there so the best decisions can be made for patients. NRH has provided tution reimbursement and alternative job opportunities to their LPN employess.

January 1, 2010 at 8:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

knute (anonymous) says...

No Nancy, they don't get it because they don't want to get it. All RN staffing sounds SO progressive and SO innovative for our little hospital that ships via helicopter as often as it does. I love helicopters and am sure happy we have that thing, noisy as it is.

But I have a couple of questions for you since I must have missed something in some article. You indicated that the LPNs have been offered positions with the new doctors and 'other positions' at the same rate of pay. Do we have that many new doctors requiring LPNs?

And what is a trained Licensed Practical NURSE allowed to do at NRHC at the same rate of pay? Housekeeping ? Work in the cafeteria? And this is not meant to be a slam towards houskeeping or cafeteria workers - both provide valuable nececessities. But LPNs doing this seems like a waste of training, knowledge and in some instances, experience, aka the best teacher.

And finally, where are the "many patient care positions for LPN's in Emporia"?

In the meantime, Nancy, R.N., I'd suggest you invest in some more running shoes or roller blades to help you keep up because I fear you're going to be on the go constantly. And your attention will be in great demand. Constantly . May God bless you for trying to keep up.

p.s. Load up on the vitamins too.

January 1, 2010 at 8:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

spectator (anonymous) says...

Absolute, who was it that coined the phrase 'Lies, d@mned lies and statistics" ?

Knute has a reasonable question. Where are the LPNs going to work- housekeeping? Cafeteria? I guess they could have shoveled snow recently.

You mentioned "acute" care which implies ICU, CCU etc. Aren't those areas pretty much RN only already?

January 1, 2010 at 8:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

nancynurse (anonymous) says...

1. Other positions within the hospital that LPN's have been encouraged to transition to: Patient transport, Patient scheduling, ED Clerk, Unit Clerk, Phlebotomist...etc.....all are very much benefited by the LPN's skill set.

2.Orthopedics, urology, pediatrics, specialty clinic, to name some of the offices that NRH LPN's have taken positions with........

3. Patient care positions in Emporia: Long Term Care, physician offices, industry,private (home) care to name a few.

January 1, 2010 at 9:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

know_your_stuff (anonymous) says...

"Other positions within the hospital that LPN's have been encouraged to transition to: Patient transport, Patient scheduling, ED Clerk, Unit Clerk, Phlebotomist...etc.....all are very much benefited by the LPN's skill set."

It all flows downhill as there are some of us in the roles that the LPN's are being encouraged to transition to that aren't LPN's. We will soon be forced out of our jobs because of this transition. Again, it is about the job you do and not the initials behind your name. We are as capable of doing the jobs we have even though we aren't RN's, LPN's, BSN's etc. And, the LPN's are as capable of doing their jobs even though they aren't RN's or BSN's.

It's about patient care not your title!

January 2, 2010 at 6:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

gooseylucy (anonymous) says...

Research, research. Don't y'all know, you can find any kind of reasearch to support your position. There is just as much research supporting the 3 tiers of nursing (CNA, LPN, RN). Plus some of the research they are using is from 2002!! That's 8 year old data!! Times have changed, and not for the better. In these financial times, using LPN's just makes more sense.

And if this research was so wonderful, then why are several magnet status hospitals in our area, still hiring LPN's?? It's because they know LPN's can still provide a valuable service to their patients. That's where most of our good LPN's are going. Out of town. How long then until they move from our town? Surely you see how this can affect the whole community? This town has already lost enough. How much more do you think it can take?

And Nancy, let me clarify some of your statement. No LPN has "chosen to transition" to Ward Clerk!! They were forced to accept this position, or else face having no hours as a nurse!! Also, some of them have been offered part-time work or PRN work. When they are working full-time they are doing that for a reason. They need full-time pay.

The all RN model may work fine in a big city hospital. But, this is NRH we are talking about here. In case you haven't noticed we are NOT a big city hospital. And NEVER will be. Wake up and smell the coffee!!

January 4, 2010 at 8:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

spectator (anonymous) says...

I found it for you, Lucy:

Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Mark Twain's Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review

January 4, 2010 at 5:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )