Summa Akron City Hospital terminated 10 licensed practical nurses and seven technicians in its emergency department Tuesday as part of an ongoing restructuring.
The decision was made to staff the emergency department with all registered nurses rather than some licensed practical nurses (LPNs), because they are able to provide more patient care under their state licenses, Summa Health System spokesman Mike Bernstein said.
The hospital plans to fill five new full-time equivalent (FTE) registered nurse positions to replace the LPN jobs, which equalled 7.2 FTEs, he said. FTE is a measurement to account for full-time and part-time employee status.
“We understand the impact this has on them and their families,” Bernstein said of the decision to eliminate the LPN jobs. “Ultimately, our responsibility is to provide the best care to the community, and that’s why we made this decision.”
Under state law, LPNs must be supervised by an RN, doctor, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist or chiropractor. They typically complete one year of training, while RNs must earn a bachelor’s or associate degree or diploma from a certified RN program.
LPN duties can include basic bedside care, taking vital signs, changing dressings, preparing and giving injections and medications, collecting samples from lab tests, feeding patients and keeping them comfortable, according to the Ohio Board of Nursing, the licensing agency for nurses statewide.
The elimination of the LPN positions in the City Hospital emergency room comes several weeks after Akron General Medical Center terminated all 70 of its licensed practical nurses who provided inpatient care as part of a decision to move to a more highly trained nursing staff.
“We are no longer hiring inpatient LPNs, but we have no plans at this time to implement a policy eliminating the remaining inpatient LPNs,” Bernstein said on Tuesday.
Summa is actively searching for new RNs to staff the City Hospital emergency department, he said. In the meantime, staffing is being adjusted as needed to make sure patient care is not impacted.
The move is part of a performance-improvement plan unveiled by Summa last week to cut about $966 million in expenses over the next decade as it prepares for changes from federal health-care reform.
As part of the plan, 60 people across many clinical and nonclinical areas are being notified that their positions are being eliminated.
Summa is Summit County’s largest employer, with 8,188 employees in its fully owned entities: Akron City, St. Thomas, Barberton and Wadsworth-Rittman hospitals, SummaCare insurance, a physician group and other businesses. Summa’s total employment is more than 11,000, if partially owned and affiliated ventures are included.
Seven emergency department technicians at City hospital also were notified Tuesday that their positions were eliminated, Bernstein confirmed. The techs were primarily responsible for performing EKGs and blood draws, Bernstein said. Their duties are being transferred to 12 paramedics who have been working in positions created to provide initial patient intake while construction work continues to expand the emergency department.
Employees who lost their jobs will receive severance packages and assistance with outplacement services.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/abjcherylpowell.