Wasteful Spending
I was reading a New York Post today in our staff lounge. A colleague had cleverly posted a recent NY Post article describing the wasteful spending by a local area hospital CEO. My Gosh – was I surprised at the list of expenses?
At a “development meeting” in Palm Beach, Fla., the CEO had spent $764 on a single dinner with a guest and $450 for a single night in his hotel. I have never in my life had a dinner that cost $ 764 dollars in the past. The most I could afford here in NYC was a single $ 30 buck dinner without a guest. (And that was without a glass of red wine!) Just think, $ 764 dollars is equivalent to almost a 14 hour shift at a premium nursing rate here in Manhattan. One additional nurse during one shift.
Other Expenses included:
Billing $74 in tennis-court fees and $61 at the tennis shop at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. That’s equivalent to several taxi cab rides to and from work for me.
An amount of $2,431 had been spent to go to an American Psychiatric Association meeting in New Orleans in May of 2001. Again equivalent to a 42 hour nursing ICU premium shift 2 week pay in NYC or the cost of two usable downloadable glucometers that could be used for patients and insulin titration that was required every 2 hours in the ICU setting.
Another $2,750 had been spent to attend a 2002 meeting of teaching hospitals in New Orleans, staying at the Royal Sonesta for $199 per night. Is the Royal Sonesta still functioning after Hurricane Katrina? What about the nursing shortage down South since Katrina’s aftermath? Wouldn’t a hemodialysis machine go a long way there if repaired with that amount of money and save a few lives down South? $ 199 dollars could provide at least a weeks’ amount of take out meals when none of us were able to sit, rest and eat during a 12 ICU hour shift.
As I finished reading the article this morning – I questioned – is American healthcare following the footsteps of the late corporate giant Enron? Was it being cramped and chewed upon slowly by CEOs that seemed to be following the tactics of deceased corporate American scandalous giants? Put a few nurses in a room and see where that money – total - $ 6,309- would be disseminated – towards patient care and workable equipment. It really was wasteful, pitiful financial spending even if declared accountable by the facility’s public relations department. It was becoming downright embarrassing as these news stories only affected the public’s outlook on us, as nurses , and the care given within these medical centers. What are we to do ??
But I could think of a few ways one could spend all that money on Dystonia awareness- public announcements, advertizements, magnets ( www.care4dystonia.org/magnets.htm ), auctions, new updated brochures, etc. Add in a few appointment costs for those patients with dystonia who couldn’t afford treatment ??? How about that ??? Anybody listening ?? I think not….sigghhhh…
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