Legal Corner

Alabama Nurse,  Jun-Aug 2004  by Eddins, Don

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While this is a question we all ponder from time-totime, a better question might be ... "Where is health care headed in Alabama?"

One thing for certain though, the nursing shortage we've all feared is real and getting more pronounced every day. As a result, there is competition to keep those we have. East Alabama hospitals and nursing homes have to deal with competition from just up 1-85 Atlanta where registered nurses make $1,000 or more a weekend by pulling shifts on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hospitals and nursing homes are willing to pay $35 to $40 per hour for contract labor, which allows them to escape the high costs of medical insurance, payroll taxes and pensions.

Birmingham area hospitals, according to media reports, are undergoing a round of base pay increases due to competition for available registered nurses. A report in The Birmingham News recently reported starting pay for registered nurses as $18 per hour and up, depending upon the facility.

Metropolitan area hospitals can afford to pay more, and their taking a larger percentage of nursing graduates only exacerbates the shortages in rural areas where hospitals and nursing homes struggle to avoid red ink. Taken as a whole, nursing pay in Alabama is at or near the very bottom among the 50 states in the nation.

Educating more nurses may help, but the ultimate solution goes beyond increasing the number of graduates. Registered nurses often leave the profession at an early age due to burn-out. Nursing, particularly staff nursing, is a difficult job, made even harder by acute staffing shortages.

Where are nursing and health care headed in Alabama? The Alabama Legislature has created a blue-ribbon committee to study the state's health care "crisis." One or more individuals nominated by the Alabama State Nurses Association will serve on the panel.

The committee will consider cost-containment, our health care delivery system and other aspects of the industry.

Where is health care headed in Alabama? The group will attempt to answer the question and recommend legislation which ensures that the industry is headed in the right direction.

Of course, it's often been said that Alabama has a sufficient number of committee reports resting on State House shelves may sink a battleship. This committee's work may well join those ignored reports in absence of creativity and proper funding.

If Alabama is to maintain a 21st century health care delivery system, the state must deal with problems facing nursing. Basically, our nurses are under-paid and overworked because we have too few of them.

How do we deal with that circumstance? That is the issue.

by Don Eddins, BS, MS, JD

Attorney at Law

Don Eddins is a practicing attorney in Auburn, Alabama, and serves as a legal counsel to the Alabama Nurses Association. Every member is entitled to a one-hour free consultation on any legal matter by calling the ASNA office.

Copyright Alabama State Nurses' Association Jun-Aug 2004
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