I first met Ms. Hamilton and Ms. Townsend in 1997, when they told me staff cuts were so severe they would not feel safe as patients in the hospital where they work. I called them the other day to see how things have changed. In some ways, their jobs are worse. They feel demoralized, tired of fighting the managed care system that is making nurses an endangered profession. They're just trying to get through the day.
Constant turnover spreads chaos.
People are not getting what they are paying for. But insurance premiums keep going up. The HMOs are still twisting a tourniquet on spending. So somebody must be getting what we pay for. Salary figures from the Ohio Department of Insurance could raise your blood pressure in a heartbeat.