from AlterNet:
Labor Notes /
By Mischa Gaus Hospitals Ravaged by Recession Pile More Work on Staff
Hospitals are strapping on more work, skimping on training and trying to stuff contract concessions through. And the health-care reform bill could make things worse February 10, 2010 |
Hospital work is thought to be recession-proof. No matter what the economy, people get sick and need care.
The work is there, but at a cost: hospital workers and researchers say some hospitals are churning through a round of reorganization, strapping on more work, skimping on training, and trying to stuff contract concessions through.
Increased hospital workloads are linked to bad economies: the last big push started in the early '90s downturn, says Judy Shindul-Rothschild, who researches nursing at Boston College.
That episode was about "de-skilling": management consultants substituted lower-cost, less-skilled workers for higher-cost nurses. Today's squeeze is especially strong at hospitals with many uninsured and underinsured patients. Worse, Shindul-Rothschild says, the national health care reform now stuck in Congress might intensify the problem. ...........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.alternet.org/economy/145621/hospitals_ravaged_by_recession_pile_more_work_on_staff