Nurses claim attendance policy jeopardizes patient health

Tuesday, January 5, 1999

Nurses claim attendance policy jeopardizes patient health

HOSPITAL: Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center staff hopes policy
governing sick leave will be modified

By Kiyoshi Tomono

Daily Bruin Contributor

When nurses at the UCLA and Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Centers
petitioned management to change their attendance policy, they
didn’t expect the policy would change at only one of the
centers.

But nurses at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center continued to
function under an attendance policy which some claim encourages
them to come to work sick.

The policy, enacted in October 1997 at both hospitals, capped
the total amount of sick time at 24 hours per quarter. Such
policies were previously based on the frequency of illness.

According to nursing administration, this attendance policy was
intended as part of a pilot program for both medical centers and
was scheduled to be evaluated after six months.

At Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, the policy was in effect
for each department, whereas at UCLA, the policy could be modified
on a unit-to-unit basis.

When the six-month period was over in February 1998, nursing
administrators concede that many did not give the program a
sensational review.

"I think the perception was that they didn’t like it, but that
was not how we wanted staff to feel," said Susan Mortensen,
clinical director of nursing at UCLA. "I think that there were a
lot of misunderstandings."

As a result, the pilot policy was scrapped at the UCLA Medical
Center in September 1998. Nurses at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical
Center, meanwhile, continue to work under the older policy which
some nurses claim is unfair to both patients and nurses.

"The Westwood campus had more nurses who were upset, so human
resources decided rather than have upset nurses, they would make up
a new policy," said Elena Ornelas Pelaez, a nurse at the Santa
Monica-UCLA Medical Center. "Human resources here (at Santa Monica)
doesn’t care if we are upset."

Regarding patient care, Yoli Rios, union representative from the
California Nurses Association (CNA), maintains the current policy
forces nurses to come to work sick, even if it endangers patient
safety.

"Nurses are being coerced to come in sick," Rios said. "This is
really critical in specific departments like the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit and the Intensive Care Unit where patients are already
compromised as it is."

Looking at her own experiences, Pelaez agreed.

"Working in (neonatal intensive care), I cannot come into work
and jeopardize the safety, health and life of the babies that I
work with," said Pelaez. "It’s a bad policy if you have a cold and
have to come in miserable."

Nursing administrators, however, assert the policy was never
intended to endanger patients or staff.

"We didn’t want employees to come in sick," Mortensen said. "The
policy was really intended to punish the people who abuse the
system."

Deborah Pasch, associate director of patient care at the Santa
Monica-UCLA Medical Center, agreed.

"We don’t want people to come in sick, but we do need to have
people by the bedside when they are scheduled to work."

Pasch indicated the attendance policy at the Santa Monica
Medical Center was unique in that it is a blanket policy, covering
all departments and units of the hospital.

While management at the UCLA Medical Center has already met to
review its policy, Pasch indicated that a similar review has been
planned for the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center.

"We are in the process of reviewing and putting together a task
force to look at what policy would be best for everyone," Pasch
said. "We have already had our first meeting to say, ‘We want to
adjust it.’"

Regarding nurses involved with critical care and infectious
patients, Pasch indicated that special considerations may be made
in the next policy.

"We realize that some bedside nurses have more exposure than
other nurses, and we do want to take that into consideration,"
Pasch said. "I am sure that there will be revisions when the policy
is reviewed."

Nursing response to the proposed review is optimistic.

"It will be great if the revisions happen," said Danita Brown, a
nurse at the Santa Monica Medical Center. "It will be nice if we
are brought up to the standards of the Westwood campus."

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]