Hahnemann University Hospital is defying convention at the moment by moving away from lower paid staff and hiring staff that will be on a higher income. This may sound strange to those in business but to the chief executive officer of the hospital Mr. Michael Halter, the move makes perfect sense. He believes that hiring better paid workers will benefit the hospital in the long run because it will entice more customers and therefore more money, and it will also create a sense of loyalty among staff for when the economy gets back on track.
Mr. Halter said that a pilot study showed that patient care improved when all nursing staff were registered nurses as opposed to using a combination of registered nurses and nursing assistants for example. For that reason, Hahnemann University Hospital will now become an all registered nurse hospital. It is expected that this change will ensure that finances improve because of the fact that quality is rewarded by insurance companies who should change their reimbursement policies.
Halter said that he expects the transition to be complete within six to twelve months and believes that this is the perfect way to help the hospital grow. During the pilot which took place in two different units of the hospital, it was possible to shift certified nursing assistants to other units within the hospital but it will not be too long before people will need to be laid off. At the moment there are 600 registered nurses working at the hospital but between fifty and sixty more will have to be hired.
However, as there are 75 CNAs working at the hospital who are likely to be laid off, unions are opposing this change. The CNAs are therefore planning industrial action from next Tuesday afternoon (14th February 2012). Henry Nicholas who is president of District 1199C of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) stated that patient care will be affected by this move as patients will be forced to wait for help with their dinner or to get a bedpan, for example. He said that this decision was morally wrong and that the hospital has a certain responsibility to the CNAs who have been serving there for quite some time. “There is no legal question. It’s a moral question. It is unjust to throw these people out who have been there for 50 years and beyond just on a humbug” he said.
Nonetheless, Mr. Halter disagreed and said about the CNAs – “I care about these people. They are good people but my responsibility is really to the patient, because they come in and they turn their care over to us”.
