Verbal feedback to individual Team Nurses and/or any of the hands-on Team Members (HA, LCSW, Chaplain) is consistently negative. In general feedback entails increasing productivity levels, increasing paperwork, decreasing costs/expenses, reduction of reimbursement for job related expenses and/or the need to reduce the supplies allotted for the patient's care.
An employee who exceeds standards in each area on the annual review will not see any increase in hourly earnings.
Wages at Vitas have long been known to be lower than our competitors. For several years Vitas has frozen wages and I suspect that this will continue as Vitas repositions itself to maintain profitability under the increased scrutiny associated with healthcare reform.
Company Culture is full of contradiction - rules and regulations are inconsistently applied. I have never seen a policy & procedure manual at Vitas. I suppose this fact is unimportant since the rules change from day to day and apply differently to each individual employee and/or patient situation.
Attention RNS
Be honest
When you enter your time each day: Remember to enter all hours that you work but do NOT include the hours required to finish the ever expanding paperwork which will eat up your time on weekends and during the evening.
Make sure to include at least a 30 minute lunch break when you enter your time daily. (even though you do not have time to eat) On the rare occasion that you do find time for the 30 minute lunch break--You will still required to respond within 15 minutes of receiving a call from Vitas
Though you are an "hourly" employee, you may be contacted after 5pm or before 8am as a convenience for Vitas managers or patient care secretaries
You will take call every 4 or 5 weeks and not be paid call pay if you are not sent out.
If you are sent out, you will not be paid overtime--however you will be paid "fee for service" -- You may be sent to difficult cases that require >3hrs of your time which will provide you with an effective pay rate of ~$17.50/hour before taxes.