Danville Register & Bee
Saturday, September 29, 2007
DANVILLE - A new chief nursing officer is now in place at Danville Regional Medical Center.
Rebekah “Becky” Logan has been at work for about a week and is adjusting to a new community and her responsibilities of being in charge of more than 600 nurses at the hospital. She brings 12 years of health care leadership experience to her new position, including chief operating officer and chief nurse executive roles in Georgia and South Carolina hospitals. Logan is the mother of two grown sons, an 18-year-old who is in culinary school in Atlanta and a 23-year-old who is a professional photographer in Dallas. After only a few days at her job, Logan sat down and answered a few questions so that the community might get to know her better.
Question: Had you ever heard of Danville?
Answer: Yes, I had. I have an uncle who lives in North Carolina, and I remember him talking about Danville and what a pretty area it is.
Q: How did Danville Regional Medical Center find you?
A: A recruiter came to me. I wasn’t looking for a job, but I got a phone call out of the blue. Then, the more I learned about Danville, the more I liked it.
Q: What appealed to you about this job?
A: The location. I was born and raised in Alabama and had lived in Georgia for 18 years. Danville and the community here seemed like a place I would fit in. When I talked to the people at the hospital, the jobbecame more attractive because they care about the patient care and the employees.
Q: What are the responsibilities of your job?
A: I have oversight of all the nursing care delivered within the organization. I make sure the care is delivered by competent and proficient nurses.
Q: What is the nursing staff situation at Danville Regional?
A: I have only been here a week, so I am in the process of assessing the staffing needs. If it is like any hospital in the nation, we need nurses, and (the shortage) is expecting to get worse nationwide.
Q: What’s the first issue you will be dealing with?
A: What I want to do now is to get to know the nursing and medical staff, and have them tell me what the issues are. I am attending staff meetings - I have already been to 50 percent of them. And I am trying to make appointments with the physicians and talk to them about what’s going well with them and what they would like to see changed.
Q: Since all of the nurses who graduated from the hospital’s nursing school last year are now working there, what are the challenges of working with inexperienced nurses?
A: The transition from academia to real practice at the bedside is scary. I remember those days. You need to partner with them until you can release them. My philosophy is to pay a lot of attention to the new graduates because the time you invest will be paid back in commitment and retention.
Q: How did you get into health care administration?
A: I found I had a talent with a team of people. It is very rewarding to have a group of people who come together and accomplish together.
Q: Why did you choose to get into nursing again?
A: Because that’s where my heart is and where we make the difference.
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45 comments:
Q: Since all of the nurses who graduated from the hospital’s nursing school last year are now working there, what are the challenges of working with inexperienced nurses?
Spin? if I recall correctly only about 1/3 rd of the class stayed in DRMC.Correct?
That is correct and if you do a pol of those new nurses, the majority say they are only staying until their SNAP is paid off. It is sad. These new nurses have the "deer in the headlights look" and are being told how great they are doing so they can be rushed through orientation. Remember what Lifepoint's theory of nurses are: A nurse is a nurse is a nurse. They say an experienced nurse only needs 3 weeks and a new nurse only needs 6 weeks. Not great nuturing.
Word should be poll. Sorry.
So....here we go: Opening volley of posts that are entirely negative and not even a chnace of seeing what the new CNO is about. Why not just call it quits and close DRMC? Surley we'll never be anything more than a reason to bitch on the blog. While we still have the Boys at the Bank, we also have the Bitchers of the Blog. Which are worse??
Tell me about it!! If you work here and all you can do is complain...Remember: there are alot of other places you could work. GO!!
REALLY........I'm trying to think what makes you stay at DRMC. Certainly its not the new graduate nurses staying long enoough to pay off their SNAP with their "deer in the headlights look" or the newly named nursing directors or the crappy pay scales or the new CNO or the outdated or the outdated computer system or the LP staffing grids or the dirty toilets or demanding patient families.......I mean what makes you stay?? And, YES, I also work there and can say I wouldn't if I started every day with such NEGATIVITY. I can't imagine that you are able to detach yourself from the demons and take care of your patients in a positive way. I'm sure there is somewhere that someone will be glad to pay you some HUGE sign on bonus to come to work with them and you won't have to put up with DRMC anymore. PLEASE look for the exit sign STAT...there are lots of them.
To the new nursing grads: We the older nurses of DRMC have not had ideal situations either. I can tell you for a fact when I graduated many moons ago and it was DRMC and not LP affiliated that I did not get the most ideal orientation period. It was probably around 4 weeks also. But I made the most of the situation and grew from that experience; there are people on every floor in this hospital that are very experienced and can answer every question that you have.
You cannot expect your experiences to be handed to you and you automatically be seasoned. To me, it sounds as though you guys are a little spoiled and that is a true sign of inexperience.
I have been gone from DRMC for some time now. I am happily employeed at Moses Cone.
It's interesting to me when I meet old friends who are still employeed at DRMC and not ONE of them have anything positive to say about their situations. A couple of them are displayed across the local media in DRMS's latest efforts to repair their image (hypocritical)??
Tell me, if you all are as miserable as you say,patient care is suffering and you have no hope; then WHY are you still there with your negative outlooks.
Please have the guts to make a move. I guarantee you will find peace and happiness. You just have to get off your butts and look for it.
Found peace , leaving soon, good riddance to about the sickest example of corporate greed underhanded trading and good ole boy white washing of a community that there ever was, God bless anyone who can stay and not point out the bad and still call themselves a patient advocate,That is truly hipocritical.
And remember ,when you're on the stand getting cross examined and it's "your" fault,we tried to speak up for patient safety any way we could and it was bitching....................
NEW CEO at DRMC
DANVILLE) -- DANVILLE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER HAS A NEW C-E-O. 52-YEAR OLD JEREL HUMPHREY WILL REPLACE ART DOLORESCO, WHO STEPPED DOWN EARLIER THIS YEAR. HUMPHREY COMES TO DANVILLE FROM HOUSTON-TEXAS, WHERE HE LED A 72-BED, PHYSICIAN-OWNED ACUTE CARE FACILITY FROM IT’S INCEPTION. HE’S ALSO A FORMER C-E-O AT A 600-BED HOSPITAL IN HOUSTON, AND ANOTHER 520-BED FACILITY. HUMPHREY WILL MOVE TO TOWN WITH HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER DURING THE CHRISTMAS BREAK.
Looks like this guy's a strong choice. Memorial Hermann is the leader in Houston. He also has staying power. Check him on zoominfo.com. Wow.
What will happen to our current lady CEO?
I hope she will be packing her bags and out of Danville she goes...
Or better yet, packing her things and flying out on her broomstick.
So many things to respond to in todays reading. First of all I hope this new CNO will bring good things but another example of this community and it's poor esample of a newspaper. The article is pure fluff. Lets ask her about her philosophy of nursing, has she worked with mandated ratios. What does she see as the main role of the RN? What does she see as the biggest challenges? Ideas for retention of qualified staff? How do we increase the education of the present nurses etc etc. No we hear Danville is pretty place...
Hopefully the new CEO can get here soon..can the wicked witch get out of here by Halloween? She has done so much damage we need to stop the bleeding now!
"A couple of them are displayed across the local media in DRMS's latest efforts to repair their image (hypocritical)??"
I spoke to one of these hypocrits the other day. She is a director no less. IF she is a leader in nursing there are still many dark days left to this facility. She has no respect for her staff, nor her employer. She worships the check she receives. Yet she speaks to how she is so proud to work with the staff. Shut her up...take her off the air.
what will happen to S.Yeatts when Miss Ruth leaves?
"How do we increase the education of the present nurses etc etc."
Many nurses at DRMC hold advanced degrees it's just that LP refuses to acknowledge it. Last January we were told that the only thing that could appear on our badges were our names and job title. Any advanced degrees that were held were not allowed to be placed on the badges. So the nurse taking care of your family member might just hold an advanced degree except you would never know it. Also as a side note, there is no increase in salary for holding an advanced degree and thus little incentive for most to obtain one.
For one, i've always found it nauseating when a nurse signs her name:
Susie Jones, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD, EIEIO.
What if every person out there signed there name with every last degree or certificate? All those extra letters never prove you care about patients until you show it.
Build a bridge...get over it.
at one time this was a great place to vent and ,with a grain of salt,obtain some information. now it seem more like a love lifepoint, hate lifepoint deal. as a 12 year employee I'm here for the pts not lifepoint and most assurdly not for the paltry 2% raise to my already meager salery. the fact that my family live here and i pay taxes here as i have for the last 15 years,and i do care for my pts, icome in every day unsure of my employment status and i paste on ac smile and help others. SO THE FACTS ARE.. LIFEPOINT DOES OWN THE HOSPITAL, PAY MY SALARY AND DOES DELIVER PT CARE. YES THEY ARE FOR PROFIT,YES PEOPLE DO KISS A##, YES PT CARE ISNT AS GOOD AS IT ONCE WAS, I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY PERFORMANCE AND ATTIUDE.
"For one, i've always found it nauseating when a nurse signs her name:
Susie Jones, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD, EIEIO."
Obviously, you have never worked towards something that associates your degree with higher level of dignity.
I didn't understand why everyone always did that either until I started working towards my bachelors and get my CCRN. Getting these credentials has filled me with a lot of pride. Maybe because you think that some don't utilize their credentials to provide proper patient care, but they did work hard enough to earn them.
"at one time this was a great place to vent and ,with a grain of salt,obtain some information. now it seem more like a love lifepoint, hate lifepoint deal"
I agree this blog has gone down hill significantly with bashing anything and anyone that is posted on here. Can't we all just get along? Or if there is a differing in opinion, couldn't we be respectful of others?
As for initials after your name, how about using just that one set that most reflect your highest accomplishment related to what it is you are doing. I spent LOTS of years in the military in addition to my medical workings and if I were to put every single initial for all my degrees, ratings, accomplishments, etc, there would be over 30! Yep, 30. Gosh, there'd be no room for my name!
Just use one set, the highest one pertinent to what you are doing.
Several years ago, an ER nurse was doing a lecture and her initials on the flier were about 8 after her name. Somebody added B.F.D. She never figured it out, we did.
what will happen to S.Yeatts when Miss Ruth leaves?
She will move on to kiss the next butt.
I find those who under estimate the value of advanced degrees have never worked towards one. I never understood until I went back to school how much is out there. The limits I see of those who have attended the DRMC nursing school is that they know only one view and although it is a start it is severely limited. I have herd form the mouths of leaders at our organization that there is no need to return to school. I find this distressing on so many levels.
Once again you're missing the point. Advanced degrees are admirable. But does it mean we have to buy larger name tags just to accomodate all the initials.
By the way...there are plenty of BSN's and MSN's that forgot about the "Care" piece of practicing the art of nursing.
First of all lifepoint doesn't care about the community,or the employees, example:the horrible insurance for employees.This is strictly a sweatshop for fix up paint up and send home to die.
Also, just use the most pertinent cert. or deg. for your position, let the public decide if that part of the service is up to the level they expect as degrees and certifications, when kept up, are synonomous with improved outcomes in many research articles.Do a general search.
Which leads to the culturally,socially, and technically inappropriate "hospitalists".
As for"I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY PERFORMANCE AND ATTIUDE" this statement belies a need for continued education and advanced degrees as anyone who has had psychology and/or sociology would know that to an extent , you are a product of your environment.YOU ARE affected by the callous condescention of a corporate leech .(lifepoint)
Education should be biannually and by an appropriately trained staff example: MSN with education cert. minimum.(include specialties).
Just someone who has always done it is not acceptable.
"Also as a side note, there is no increase in salary for holding an advanced degree and thus little incentive for most to obtain one."
lifepoint IS the reason to obtain an advanced degree, educate yourself on the evils of greed tactics and the culture of them and the effect they will have on the patients ,lifepoint as a corp is ignorant ,or doesn't care about about the patients one or the other.The city of Danville in general has always had a "keep them stupid and keep them working for us until they die or we need cheaper employees to keep up our lavish salaries " mentality" that's one reason the city was so delicious to lifepoint and the infamous megalomaniacs from "the Bank"
Lastly , "the care of nursing " flies out the window when a for profit increases the pt load for an increase in a few peoples profit.
Then let me just ask you this and try not to dodge the answer. As I rrite this,I am with my wife in a hospital in L.A. Ratios here are mandated at 4:1, the hospital is a non-profit and I've seen plenty of RN, BSN, CCRN, etc.....Why is the care here so utterly less than mediocre? I've watched your trash spew back and forth and can sit on the sidelines no longer. The best care we've received so far is from a nurse that just graduated with her Associate's degree (I asked) and combined skill with "caring". What is your weak excuse now?
No excuse , you obviously didn't read all of the posts, What you have run into is a lack of personal pride and lack of caring for another human being .
Also probably a measure of fatigue in caring for people who do not try to take care of themselves.Not that your family doesn't , you could be caught innocently in this situation.
Tell me what you think of teh formula: 4:1 ratios (best in the nation) - I've bathed my wife each day - I've changed all her linens - I attend to her comfort needs = the above observations about non-profit being the end all/be all are incorrect. Not help ourselves? Hardly. My wife's room has been teh lowest maintenance room on the floor. Still waiting for your excuse-ridden answer.
"Tell me what you think of teh formula: 4:1 ratios (best in the nation) - I've bathed my wife each day - I've changed all her linens - I attend to her comfort needs = the above observations about non-profit being the end all/be all are incorrect. Not help ourselves? Hardly. My wife's room has been teh lowest maintenance room on the floor. Still waiting for your excuse-ridden answer."
And this is acceptable health care to you?
Good patient care is not entirely related to ratios, for profit-vs. not for profit, degrees and training etc. These contribute but the largest contributors are the people involved both the administrative offices who make the decisions and carry out the plans. These people to include physicians must never lose the focus of patient in the bed and their needs. We care for human beings who are mothers, fathers, sisters, children of other human beings.
"Education should be biannually and by an appropriately trained staff example: MSN with education cert. minimum.(include specialties).
Just someone who has always done it is not acceptable."
People who met this criteria have run far away form this organization. You need to work with what you got.
The lifepoint bunch is ..Their so smart they've hired travelers at 2 times our salary and they can dictate safe staffing levels for themselves and exactly when they'll work , qualified or not.
You are right in that many talented and knowledgeable staff were chased away to bring in travelers at $100,ooo of dollars a month. What do they get from travelers? The ability to work them at whatever ratio or condition is dictated. I hear they are talking about agency nurses as well. OMG!
Would not surprise me one bit. CFO Anderson loves agency nurses, because, that is all they used at Martinsville. Bring them here and there for a couple of days to get over the hump and away they go to another facility. Since the agency, Medrequest, has an office in Danville and started in Martinsville, it should be easy to find nurses willing to work. Although, having worked with some Medrequest nurses, OMG, not the brightest apples on the tree. But, they hold expenses down since DRMC wont have to be locked into 8,12, 13 week contracts at much higher wages. But isn't that what it is really all about, decrease cost and maximize profits?
The citizens of Danville should be warned of scab workers.
Smart Travelers have limits to the number, and the type of patients they take care of in their contract. They also have stipulations against being pulled to other floors, and the schedule they will work. They may be stupid about some things, but in other ways they are pretty smart!
The hospital is even putting regular staff on call at less than minimum wage so they can pay the expensive scab workers more money.
Changing our self schedule because " the travelers mandated this schedule" etc. Should be some type of law against this , but disgraceful is as disgraceful does and lifepoint knows no boundaries .
You call them "scab" workers. Without a union, they are not "scab" workers. If we had a union we would not have so many travelers and contract employees because we could set the tone for more money, better benefits, and mandatory staffing ratios. So, don't hate the travelers who come here from all over the country, hate Lifepoint. Lifepoint is the one that put us in this situation in the first place. If they had not run off so many nurses and other very important staff we would not be in this mess. Yet, Lifepoint still says that we have too much staff and we need to find ways to work harder with less so that we can meet our budgets.
So we can sit here and complain on an internet blog site, or we can stand up and say we are not going to take this anymore. What's your choice going to be?
Made my choice, packed up and headin' out.
That's what you said before....when ya leavin'?
Not the same person , Many are leaving , we're already gone , enjoy the hell that is lifepoint.
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