Cook County wants to fire 320 people (are you freaking kidding me!)
When I read that the Cook County Health and Hospitals System - which includes the hospital where I was treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma - was laying off 320 people I was, to put it mildly, not amused. And I was even less amused when I got to this part (emphasis mine).
A Stroger Hospital employee who asked to remain anonymous said nurses, translators, electrocardiogram technicians and computer technicians were among those who received layoff letters.
My reaction was, more or less, "are you fucking kidding me, you goats!"
As someone who was treated at the Cook County Hospital, I know first-hand just how hard nurses work. Doctors may decide on treatment, but nurses are the ones who make sure you get the right dose of chemo. They are the ones who would worry if the treatment is hurting you, and when you throw up, they are the ones who hand you the barf bag.
It's hard to overstate how vital translators are to keeping things running. If you are a patient at the Cook County system and you're not black, chances are pretty good your native language isn't English. When the matters of health (if not life and death) are at stake, it is vital, absolutely freaking vital that doctors understand what patients are saying - an that patients understand what the doctors are saying. And I know for a fact that, while translators are available around the clock in theory, in practice, it's a whole other matter. Especially with some of the less common languages. Firing more people is only going to make things worse.
As for computer technicians... You have no idea how much data entry is needed to keep things running. When the county hospital system shut down, the procedures slowed to a freaking crawl (which is saying something, since, as you may recall from my "Chemo diaries" posts, the hospital is not exactly renowned for speed). Speaking of which - much of those delays are due to the fact that there are only so many people manning computers at any given time.
What I'm saying is that there's a reason why, after my last chemo, I made a point to thank the staffers who handled registration personally. I've seen how hard it is to try to get all the patients registered and wristbanded, especially when many of them don't speak much (if any) English.
200 people already received their layoff notices. Presumably, 120 more will receive them in weeks to come.
The DNAinfo Chicago article mentions that "the hospital network's 2017 budget calls for adding 450 new jobs 'in key areas.'" Which is terribly vague and not very comforting. I can't help but wonder if this is at least partially an excuse to dump older, more experienced (and thus more expensive) employees and hire younger, less experienced ones.
And speaking of hiring... When you're getting chemo, you wind up sitting in the same damn chair for hours. It's hard not to overhear nurses talking. Many (but not all) live in some pretty poor neighborhoods. Many of them have children and grandchildren to take care of. And because I have gotten to know them at least a little bit, this feels less abstract.
I've said before that, if the nurses' union is going to strike, I'm going to be there at the picket lines. At least for some of the time. And if it comes to that, I intend to keep that promise. It's a question of moral imperative.
During the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union strike, one sign in particular stuck with me.
It's the same idea.
A Stroger Hospital employee who asked to remain anonymous said nurses, translators, electrocardiogram technicians and computer technicians were among those who received layoff letters.
My reaction was, more or less, "are you fucking kidding me, you goats!"
As someone who was treated at the Cook County Hospital, I know first-hand just how hard nurses work. Doctors may decide on treatment, but nurses are the ones who make sure you get the right dose of chemo. They are the ones who would worry if the treatment is hurting you, and when you throw up, they are the ones who hand you the barf bag.
It's hard to overstate how vital translators are to keeping things running. If you are a patient at the Cook County system and you're not black, chances are pretty good your native language isn't English. When the matters of health (if not life and death) are at stake, it is vital, absolutely freaking vital that doctors understand what patients are saying - an that patients understand what the doctors are saying. And I know for a fact that, while translators are available around the clock in theory, in practice, it's a whole other matter. Especially with some of the less common languages. Firing more people is only going to make things worse.
As for computer technicians... You have no idea how much data entry is needed to keep things running. When the county hospital system shut down, the procedures slowed to a freaking crawl (which is saying something, since, as you may recall from my "Chemo diaries" posts, the hospital is not exactly renowned for speed). Speaking of which - much of those delays are due to the fact that there are only so many people manning computers at any given time.
What I'm saying is that there's a reason why, after my last chemo, I made a point to thank the staffers who handled registration personally. I've seen how hard it is to try to get all the patients registered and wristbanded, especially when many of them don't speak much (if any) English.
200 people already received their layoff notices. Presumably, 120 more will receive them in weeks to come.
The DNAinfo Chicago article mentions that "the hospital network's 2017 budget calls for adding 450 new jobs 'in key areas.'" Which is terribly vague and not very comforting. I can't help but wonder if this is at least partially an excuse to dump older, more experienced (and thus more expensive) employees and hire younger, less experienced ones.
And speaking of hiring... When you're getting chemo, you wind up sitting in the same damn chair for hours. It's hard not to overhear nurses talking. Many (but not all) live in some pretty poor neighborhoods. Many of them have children and grandchildren to take care of. And because I have gotten to know them at least a little bit, this feels less abstract.
I've said before that, if the nurses' union is going to strike, I'm going to be there at the picket lines. At least for some of the time. And if it comes to that, I intend to keep that promise. It's a question of moral imperative.
During the 2012 Chicago Teachers Union strike, one sign in particular stuck with me.
It's the same idea.