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For Immediate Release January 31, 2005
Any nurses left in the nursing home?
Registered nurses are very concerned about the declining levels of actual nursing care that the Bethany Group is providing in its long-term care facility in Camrose.
With layoffs scheduled for February 1, Bethany is cutting over a third of its Registered nursing staff. United Nurses of Alberta is filing a grievance against the lay offs.
“Cutting standards for nursing home care is rampant across the province,” noted Heather Smith. “More Albertans should be upset about the care their family members aren’t receiving. Families have begun circulating petitions. Increasingly it looks as though it will be starting here in Camrose too.”
With the layoffs, there is only one RN responsible for some 65 residents. She or he barely has time to keep the records, and oversee the delivery of all the medications. There is practically NO time to actually see the residents, assess them or do any actual nursing care.
Long-term residents have faced rising costs to stay in the facility. Charges went up by the 40 percent that the government announced in 2003, and they had just gone up significantly in 2002 as well. The Alberta government allowed the increase, saying it would improve services.
“Residents and their families have to pay much higher rates than just a few years ago, but Bethany has told the nurses, it has to bring costs, and the staffing levels down,” notes Heather Smith. “These families are paying more for less.”
In announcing the layoffs, Bethany Care Group told nurses that money is the reason for the staffing cuts. But the management told Camrose newspapers the reduction in nursing care is not about saving money but about moving to a “social” model of care.
The total number of residents has gone up from 188 to 208 residents. But the total number of nursing hours will drop from 15.2 positions to 9.4 positions. Bethany says that’s because 78 of the residents are now considered to be living in supportive housing, and no longer require on site nursing care.
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For more information: Heather Smith, RN, President, United Nurses of Alberta (780) 425-1025
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