What good are comments? Hospital executives haven't really made personal sacrifices re: pay, benefit reductions etc for themselves. I would imagine the executive retreats will continue, cell phones and portable devices will be paid for, hidden bonuses will contine etc. We are all fools for not finding a way for an outside audit of the ECH "books". Cutting nurse benefits and therefore, job satisfaction has been proven by research projects/journals and papers to affect empllyee performance. Needless to say, competition for great RN's will likewise affect recruting stellar, high performing RN's. It is we, the public that will be affected in the long term. Support for RN's is futile despite it's priority for better patient outcomes. When you need emergent, excellent care try Stanford where RN pay is higher and patient outcomes for Open heart surgeries, pneumonia care etc are high as well.
Cetainly with Medicare/Medicare Supplements being paid for by the new wave of Baby Boomers, hosptial choices are broader and perhaps a new hospital experience might prove beneficial. I am personally tired of hearing about El Camino Hospital's on-going debacles. chronic computer system glitches, money shortages, staff dissatisfaction and operational difficulties that realistically fall on the lap of the CEO who has not performed hoped. Anyone checking into his performance?????

First; Good job Joanne! Secondly, the employees are still expected to take up the slack in the financial belt and come to work with the same pride and quality of service as always. As the hospital gets to the point of making money the employees will still be in poor shape in the income and benefits department because what they lost will most likely never be given back. The ones still employeed are the lucky ones as there aren't jobs out there for the ones laid off and that isn't much consolation. What do people think happens when nurses are laid off? The staffing requirments stay in place and the nurses do what they can and the CNAs get the primary care heaped on them as the nurses don't have time to help. No one wins, especially the patients. All the other employees also get more to do and it is only the fact that they can't get another job that keeps them there, and also a tremendous loyalty to their job and community, as every day they worry about losing their job as well. It may be the way things are today, but we still get a new, advanced technology, safe hospital to take care of us. Let's try to keep supporting the hospital and its employees as we probably need them just as much as they need us. It' our hospital so let's make it work for everyone.

Joanne- The executives have taken cuts. A large portion of their compensation comes in the form of performance bonus.(like most large companies) No bonus this year due to financial challenegs so your off base on that one. I have no idea what hidden bonuses your citing but please do share if this is anything more than a wild assumption. There have been since Grahams arrival major reforms to expense report policy and travel guidlines so you may continue to plant wild ideas in peoples heads but that stopped long ago. Last time I checked most professionals need cellphones and laptops to do their jobs so if you think that is some perk they are abusing Im afraid your a bit out of touch with the times and what is appropriate. Yes some benefits to nurses have been cut but many of these were flat out rediculous to begin with. Specifically items regarding vacation acrual and PTO...... No one wants less perks or money regardless if it is warranted or not. If you think the Stanford RN situation is perfect you should pay more attention as there was major strife over there this year with a near walkout/strike. Not to mention the troubles at PAMF with major layoffs and relocations...the point is El Camino is not unique you are just more sensitive/receptive to the bad news vs the good. The hospitals programs are working to get them back on track budget wise. With this everyone benefits as with stable financials comes stable employement and benefits. The challeneges the hospital face are complicated. Before you place the blame on the CEO you realize the situation he faced this year was the result of actions taken several years ago.(bond financing for one) The fact that he was able to turn the budget around and get back in the black this year is a testimate to his ability regardless of what you would like to believe. The board is of more concern as their track record is questionable at best and filled with conflicts of interest. So before you throw everyone but them under the bus you need to look at the track record of everyone involved. Could it be we need a new board and not CEO?

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