Smith College in
Northampton plans to cut one of
two full-time registered nurse positions at Pelham Medical
Services, jeopardizing the ability of medical staff to meet the
diverse healthcare needs of students
NORTHAMPTON, Mass., May 22, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Hundreds of community members have signed a
petition urging Smith College to
preserve full RN services at Pelham Medical Services at
the Schacht Center for Health and Wellness. The college
recently announced budget cuts, including eliminating one of two
full-time nursing positions, prompting medical team members to
write letters to Smith administrators
out of concern that the cut will mean a deterioration of care for
students who often require diverse and complex treatment.
"This decision raises significant apprehension about our ability
to meet the diverse healthcare needs of our students," the
community petition on Change.org says. "The
reduction in staffing will severely impede our capacity to maintain
the level of service excellence that our students rightfully
expect. Our nurses play a pivotal role in providing clinical
support across medical, counseling, and psychiatry services.
Without this position, we anticipate the need to consider scaling
back our hours and narrowing our scope of services."
In the petition, medical staff point to an increased need for
student healthcare at Pelham, and
highlight the complicated nature of providing care to a diverse
student population:
- Nurses at Pelham see in-person
care visits linked to 50 different nurse protocols and standing
orders created by the medical director.
- Having nurses see more straightforward visit types allows our
doctor and nurse practitioners to see medically and psychiatrically
complex patients every day.
- So far for the 2023-2024 academic year, there have been 1478
nursing visits, up from 687 nurse visits pre-pandemic in the
2018-2019 academic year.
- Care at Pelham Medical Services has only expanded and become
more complex in recent years, such that top diagnoses seen by the
doctor and nurse practitioners in the medical service now include
anxiety, eating disorders, and depression.
- We rely upon nursing to provide triage, care coordination,
after hours support, lab testing and medical procedures,
immunizations, emergency care, crisis response care, and direct
office visit care.
Explanation of the Impact of the RN Elimination:
The current clinical staffing at the Schacht Center currently
consists of one medical assistant, three RN's (2 FTE and
1 PTE), and six providers between
medical services and psychiatric providers in the counseling
services. The RN's and medical assistant provide support for both
medical and psychiatric providers. Schedules are already staggered
to provide adequate daily coverage.
Eliminating this 35-hour RN position will only allow for one FTE
and one PTE for daily RN staffing,
resulting in only 1 RN two days per week. The nurses currently
manage anywhere from 10-30 triage calls, 10-20 nursing
appointments, all walk-in urgent care appointments, and
prescription calls and refill needs for both the medical and
psychiatry providers on a daily basis.
Steps taken so far in the advocacy effort include:
- 10 medical team members sent a letter on May 10 to the Smith
College President, Dean of the College, VP of Finance, Dean
of Students and Kris Evans, LICSW,
Director, Schacht Center for Health & Wellness.
- Created and shared an online petition on May 16, which was shared with students,
faculty/staff, and alums, who have then shared it in private online
social media groups for students, parents, and alums.
"Nurses truly form the bedrock of our care," the medical team
members wrote to college administrators on May 10. "Elimination of this RN position will
inevitably increase risk to Smith
College by reducing safeguards that help keep our most
vulnerable students safe and able to stay on campus.
"Please help us by funding this position so that we can carry
out our commitment to our mission to provide high quality,
compassionate health care to support and serve our students, so
that they can stay safe and flourish here at Smith."
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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the
largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members
advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of
nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of
nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view
of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies
on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association