Turnover rate at dialysis clinics

[DomJDavis1985]

So i am fairly new to this ("celebrated" my first month on Dialysis yesterday) i have been at my clinic less than 3 weeks and already we have lost 3 techs...i am wondering if this is just a coincidence or do Dialysis clinics have a high turnover rate of employees like this usually.

I am sure some of u who have been on in center Dialysis for a while can  answer this question

[Pam]

I've been doing D for 22mos. My unit has 24 chairs, 2 RNS, 2 PAs. 7 techs.We had a Tech move out of state but that is the only change since I started and so far she has not been replaced.
Pam

[Stoday]

Just one has left my 19-chair unit in the 7 months I've been on dialysis.

[galvo]

We have very little movement in staff apart from rotation between the Hospital Renal ward, the Hospital D centre, and the 2 satellite centres.

[peleroja]

I'm back on hemo after a two year absence, and only one tech was missing,  and I was told he passed away.  I did notice, however, several of the patients were missing.  Some had passed away and others went to different clinics.  I'm in California, in case that makes a difference.

[Dman73]

Since 2005 I have seen about 30 staff leave and it is becoming more prevalent creating increased stress & uncertainty to our D lifestyle. I would prefer having a robot scan, analyze and connect you while a program sets the machine according to your profile and weight going on. It couldn't be any more impersonal and uncaring than the situation we have now.

In 1973, things were the exact opposite as there was always a Dr. present at the hospital where you had your treatment and Rn's put you on not to mention they would give you a ticket to go and get a meal from the cafeteria that you ate while you were on the machine. There were no blankets needed, no heated chairs and unfortunately no TV/Internet or EPO.

[MommyChick]

I too have been on D since 2005 & still waiting for that kidney to find me... but anyways...
I have been at my clinic for 7 yrs & there is constantly new staff! The staff changes more then I can remember & its a shame because I have had some really great nurses & techs leave. I still have good techs & nurses now but I hate that they are always changing!
I don't think there is one person .. staff or patient that has been there as long as me!

Good Luck & God Bless!

[Cowdog]

50 chair Fresenius unit. I've been there since 10/08. Only 1 nurse left that was there when I started, maybe 5 techs. It's a revolving door for staff. We're on our 4th clinic manager since I started. Very common for nurses to work 60 hr weeks. So short handed they pull staff from clinics within a 75 mile radius to fill in. One traveling nurse has been on assignment here for 6 months and several have come through for 3 month assignments. Many of the staff left to go to Davita for better pay. I'm very fortunate that I can take care of myself, feel sorry for my friends who the new staff are learing on (OJT). See many infiltrations from bad sticks.

[Alex C.]

A friend, who is an RN, told me about the dialysis industry. Since most dialysis centers are for-profit, they concentrate on hiring newcomers to the field, whether they be nurses or technicians, because the pay is, to be blunt, crap. Most people who take these jobs consider it to be nothing more than a first step into the health field, and any of them who have any ability at all will find something that pays much better within 1 year. In fact, he went on to say, that he would be most concerned about those who have stayed at dialysis clinics longer, since they were likely to be the least capable people.

[BlueKat]

When I worked for a non-profit, which owned & operated several hospital inpatient units, & multiple outpatient (incenter) units, staff was stable. Positions did not open up very often. Staff was happy with their jobs. The non-profit sold the whole works to a large for profit business. Staff wasn't replaced, RN's disappeared, FA's/managers changed with the wind. RN's lost their positions, & were transferred to other positions, & or quit. One client told me 5 techs/RN's had quit the incenter unit they were in. Non-profit allows a lot more leway for time allowed with pts. No complaining about days there is extra staff. Non-profit had back up help you could find if needed. For profit, sends techs/RN's home on a day to day basis, if the pt. census is down, or less txs. that day. Some techs/RN's need the hours they were hired for, & if sent home too often, they have to look for work elsewhere. Those that are left at work, have larger workloads, no time to do anything, & extremely long hrs in hospital facilities. The federal government has done the dialysis clinic's a huge dis-service by reimbursment called "bundling". Dialysis reimbused with bundling, is one payment that covers, the treatment & all medications the pt. needs. The amount of reimbursement doesn't begin to cover the cost associated with the tx. Private pay pts, with private insurance are billed at exorbitant rates. One manager told me that one private pay pt, covers the cost of 7 other dialysis pts. who are on medicare only. The bundling has ruined which medications Drs. can prescribe for their dialysis pts. If there is a cheaper generic or other cheaper med that does the same thing, that is what the pt. will get, or gets switched to. This was all happening before Obama care. It appears to me that more and more non-profit dialysis units, will sell out to large dialysis business's. The federal rules & regulations associated with dialysis are mind boggling. Large dialysis business's can handle those regulations more efficiently then non-profits who spend their time on all the other medical care their clients need.

[dublin]

Since 2005 I have seen about 30 staff leave and it is becoming more prevalent creating increased stress & uncertainty to our D lifestyle. I would prefer having a robot scan, analyze and connect you while a program sets the machine according to your profile and weight going on. It couldn't be any more impersonal and uncaring than the situation we have now.

In 1973, things were the exact opposite as there was always a Dr. present at the hospital where you had your treatment and Rn's put you on not to mention they would give you a ticket to go and get a meal from the cafeteria that you ate while you were on the machine. There were no blankets needed, no heated chairs and unfortunately no TV/Internet or EPO.

  Hi haha doctor was in the clinic at that time thats good now there is one in our clinic all the time well ment to be but if you see the doc twice in any one month you are doing fairly well though we do have heat blankets and ice cold water yum yum and biscuits also in the last week 3 techs have been let go cost cutting measure now means waiting around 45 to 55 mins for your chair other than that is a good clinic the nurses are good and very friendly there is 2 nurses for every 6 patients its all about the money now for these big companys they dont care for the patients and there staff mores the pity anyway thanks for reading this letter.

Regards

dublin     

[Speedy1wrc]

I went back to the center I was at in 2005. One of the reasons was that I thought I would know the staff and it would be easy. Only 4 or 5 are still there from back then out of maybe 30? Most of tose who left went to other local DaVita centers which puzzles me. The one new center I now go to has the same shared manager, so I'm not sure why one center is so different in terms of employess than the other. I do know that in terms of patient care the old center sucks the most out of the three. I'm glad I left too.