Erlanger nurses, staff unappreciated
So half of the bonuses at Erlanger have been paid out. An administrator in a letter in December said how hard she worked, sometimes 12-16 hours, sometimes even dealing with safety issues, while the hourly employees worked 7.5 hours, then went home. My jaw dropped at her complete lack of knowledge — the nurses work in excess of 12 hours a day, rarely leaving the floor even for lunch, managing safety issues while managing complex care. When the census is down, rather than let nurses catch up on in-service (on safety issues, perhaps?), unit organizational issues, or committee work, the nurses are sent home, either with no pay or forced paid leave time. Performance goals were met on the backs of retirees, nurses and the staff directly supporting them. Research shows where RNs feel valued, have control over their practice and are adequately staffed, turnover is low, which translates into not only substantial cost savings but also better patient outcomes. No, that won’t get an administrator a bonus in 12 months, but if the board wants to hand out bonuses, could it at the very least take a longer term view for the health of the hospital?
Janet Secrest, Hixson
If court says it, that settles it
Recent letter writers have objected to the courts ignoring the “will of the people” in their decisions favoring marriage equality. I’m not sure where these writers got the impression they are entitled to vote to deny the constitutional rights of others. It certainly isn’t in the Constitution. The framers intentionally made it difficult to amend the Constitution. Whether it is our First Amendment rights such as free speech and religion, our Fifth Amendment rights to decline to testify against one’s self or our 14th Amendment right to equal protection of the law, these rights are not subject to popular vote. When individuals feel they have been denied their constitutional rights, they have recourse in the courts. If the courts side with the individual, others who disagree with the court are free to pursue the amendment process, which requires a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and the approval of the state legislatures in three-fourths of the states.