Mercy Health and Rehabilitation Center will consolidate the care of patients into five nursing floors, pushing an estimated 16 full-time certified nursing assistants into part-time jobs.
The long-term care and rehabilitation hospital in Auburn has six nursing floors with empty beds on each of them. The consolidation into five floors is expected to save money by reducing the costs of running six floors, said Mercy administrator Steve Ash.
It is also expected to ensure a stable nurse-patient ratio at the 3 St. Anthony St. facility by making “the staffing picture more consistent seven days a week,” Ash said. The plan is expected to be implemented by March 1.
Coert Bonthius, vice president of for Service Employees International Union Local 1199, which represents Mercy unionized staff, said the union is supportive of any measure that ensures Mercy's economic health, but there is still a sting for the workers who face a drop from five guaranteed shifts a week to two.
“I don't think anybody is prepared to handle a position changing from full-time to part-time,”
Bonthius said. “People have families to feed. It's a difficult situation whenever it happens.”
Staff were told about the plans for the floor consolidation last year, but were only told this week that it will mean CNA positions changing into part-time ones. Eleven CNA positions are likely to become part-time on the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift.
Both Ash and Bonthius said they hope the number of affected positions can be lowered by the time the consolidation is completed.
Past violations at Mercy were blamed on staff shortages.
“Our staffing is as good as it's been in years,” Ash said. “It will only get better with this. Even though people are being affected (in their jobs going) full-time to part-time, the difference is being made up in staffing five instead of six floors.”
Bonthius said “this specific change will not impact the patient to staff ratio,” but an improper load of patients per worker is a constant concern in the industry. The goal at Mercy is for each CNA to care for eight patients during day shifts and to care for 10 patients during evening shifts.
A September inspection yielded 13 deficiencies, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But in its most recent survey, conducted Dec. 27, the state Department of Health reported that the facility was in compliance.
The floor consolidation also will eliminate the use of expensive contract agency staff to fill licensed practical nurse positions, Ash said.
The single biggest change with the floor consolidation will be the relocation of the facility's rehabilitation unit from the second to the seventh floor. The rehab unit will jump up from 40 to 49 beds. Most of the patients will remain rehab patients with the goal of returning home, but Mercy hopes to open the floor to patients who will live full-time at Mercy but are more independent.
The second floor will no longer house residents and those empty rooms might allow for an expansion of the therapy treatment area and the installation of a lounge waiting area, Ash said.
Several rooms are being renovated and remodeled during the consolidation.
Mercy has a total of eight floors, including a chapel at its top floor. The third floor is dedicated to Alzheimer's disease and dementia care. The fourth, fifth and six floors are traditional long-term care units.
The facility has 297 licensed beds. With the consolidation, it will drop to 247 beds. About 220 patients are currently at Mercy.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
It is also expected to ensure a stable nurse-patient ratio at the 3 St. Anthony St. facility by making “the staffing picture more consistent seven days a week,” Ash said. The plan is expected to be implemented by March 1.
Coert Bonthius, vice president of for Service Employees International Union Local 1199, which represents Mercy unionized staff, said the union is supportive of any measure that ensures Mercy's economic health, but there is still a sting for the workers who face a drop from five guaranteed shifts a week to two.
“I don't think anybody is prepared to handle a position changing from full-time to part-time,”
Bonthius said. “People have families to feed. It's a difficult situation whenever it happens.”
Staff were told about the plans for the floor consolidation last year, but were only told this week that it will mean CNA positions changing into part-time ones. Eleven CNA positions are likely to become part-time on the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift.
Both Ash and Bonthius said they hope the number of affected positions can be lowered by the time the consolidation is completed.
Past violations at Mercy were blamed on staff shortages.
“Our staffing is as good as it's been in years,” Ash said. “It will only get better with this. Even though people are being affected (in their jobs going) full-time to part-time, the difference is being made up in staffing five instead of six floors.”
Bonthius said “this specific change will not impact the patient to staff ratio,” but an improper load of patients per worker is a constant concern in the industry. The goal at Mercy is for each CNA to care for eight patients during day shifts and to care for 10 patients during evening shifts.
A September inspection yielded 13 deficiencies, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But in its most recent survey, conducted Dec. 27, the state Department of Health reported that the facility was in compliance.
The floor consolidation also will eliminate the use of expensive contract agency staff to fill licensed practical nurse positions, Ash said.
The single biggest change with the floor consolidation will be the relocation of the facility's rehabilitation unit from the second to the seventh floor. The rehab unit will jump up from 40 to 49 beds. Most of the patients will remain rehab patients with the goal of returning home, but Mercy hopes to open the floor to patients who will live full-time at Mercy but are more independent.
The second floor will no longer house residents and those empty rooms might allow for an expansion of the therapy treatment area and the installation of a lounge waiting area, Ash said.
Several rooms are being renovated and remodeled during the consolidation.
Mercy has a total of eight floors, including a chapel at its top floor. The third floor is dedicated to Alzheimer's disease and dementia care. The fourth, fifth and six floors are traditional long-term care units.
The facility has 297 licensed beds. With the consolidation, it will drop to 247 beds. About 220 patients are currently at Mercy.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net