Low Census Procedure. When patient census and acuity create a need to reduce nurse staffing after the schedule has been posted, individual nurses will be subject to call off pursuant to the following procedures. In the application of the factors described below relating to call off decisions, the primary considerations shall be the maintenance, at all times, of safe patient care, continuity of care by the nurse currently assigned to such activities, and the maintenance of adequate nursing staff to serve
a. Low census call offs may occur for a portion of a scheduled shift (including a decision to delay the start time of a previously scheduled nurse) or for the entire scheduled shift. Nurses who are designated to be called off by Hospital management will be provided notice of such call off no less than one (1) hour in advance of the nurse’s scheduled shift by way of a documented telephone call to the telephone number provided by the nurse to Hospital management.
b. After evaluation of the factors described above, nurse call offs shall occur in the following manner:
1. The Hospital shall continue to maintain a Hospital wide list of volunteers which will be updated no less than once per quarter. Nurses who have signed the volunteer call off list will be the first nurses called off;
2. If permitted by the terms of the Agreement between the Hospital and the agency or traveler nurse, agency, traveler or locum tenens shall be the first nurses called off under this procedure. If the Hospital is required to continue to pay agency traveler or locum tenens nurses even if such individuals are called off, such nurses will not be called off pursuant to these procedures;
3. The next nurse to be called off shall be any nurse scheduled to work or actually working overtime or premium shifts;
4. Xxxx matter nurses shall be next called off;
5. Next in order priority shall be per diem nurses;
6. Next in the order of call off priority shall be regular part time and/or regular full time nurses.
c. It is agreed and understood that in the event two (2) or more nurses are in the same category regarding the priority of call offs, once consideration of the nurses necessary skill mix, certifications, and continuity of patient care have been considered and two (2) or more nurses are considered equal under this evaluation, the call off decision will be made by seniority in the bargaining unit. The selection of the nurse to be sent home due to low census shall not be subject to a grievance unless the House sup...
Low Census Procedure. When low census reductions are needed, nurses will be given the opportunity to float to available assignments for which they are qualified.
Low Census Procedure. When the Hospital experiences a temporary decrease in staffing requirements, the Employer shall exercise its best efforts to rotate mandatory low census hours equitably on a shift by shift basis within a department/unit. Nothing in this section prevents the Employer from implementing low census practices that apply to all employees working on a shift (e.g. ending all employee's shifts early). The Employer may make exceptions to granting voluntary or assigning mandatory low census based on the number, classification, special expertise/skill of staff required to provide adequate coverage to meet the overall patient care or departmental requirements/acuity of the Hospital and overall cost effectiveness. For low census of individual employees, the low census procedure will be implemented in the following order:
1. The Employer will make a good faith effort to determine if a need/float opportunity exists in another department or another shift in the same job classification.
2. Staff scheduled for overtime/premium pay on their non-regularly scheduled shift may be cancelled.
3. On a shift-to-shift basis, voluntary low census days will be granted by the Employer on a designated volunteer list on a first-requested basis for the unit and job classification experiencing the low census. If the employee is not contacted by the Hospital the employee is expected to report to work.
4. When low census requires further staffing reductions in a job classification (and by department), the Employer will cancel agency staff, then non-overtime supplemental employees, and finally employees working extra shifts (i.e., scheduled on their normal day off) prior to assigning an employee a mandatory low census. Supplemental employees cancelled due to low census shall be cancelled in an equitable rotation, unless specialty skill requirements are needed.
5. An employee will be assigned by the Employer to take mandatory low census on an equitable rotation based on seniority, unless the. Special expertise/skill of the employee(s) is necessary to provide adequate coverage to meet the overall patient care or departmental requirements/acuity of the Hospital and overall cost effectiveness.
6. An employee assigned a mandatory or granted a voluntary low census pursuant to this section shall be given credit toward vacation, sick leave, and insurance benefits. In either case, (voluntary or mandatory) it is the responsibility of the employee to enter this information into the time clock system to a...
Low Census Procedure. During times of low patient census in which less staff is required, AHS shall apply the following procedure:
Low Census Procedure. The Charge nurse determines how many nursing staff members are needed to work on the next shift in the unit based on the unit-level staffing plan.
Low Census Procedure. Nurses scheduled to work in a unit and shift 9 experiencing Low Census will have their shift or portion of their shift 10 cancelled in the following sequence:
11 1. Agency, Traveler, or ShareCare nurses.
13 2. Nurses whose work would be payable at overtime or incentive shift 14 premium.
16 3. Nurses who volunteer, with the earliest request for time off given 17 preference.
19 4. Per diem nurses.
21 5. Remaining nurses in accordance with the unit’s Low Census rotation 22 system. The system of Low Census rotation shall be written and 23 communicated by the manager, in consultation with the nurses on the 24 unit. Nurses on a unit may change the system of rotation by majority 25 vote, provided that the system is approved by the unit manager and is 26 in writing. 28 **Nurses who volunteer may be considered prior to the low census of
29 a Traveler who has already been low censused once per pay period.
Low Census Procedure. Nurses scheduled to work in the a unit and shift experiencing the Low Census will occur will have their shift or portion of their shift cancelled in the following sequence:
Low Census Procedure. 6.14.1. During times of low patient census in which less staff is required, AHS shall apply the following procedure:
a) Cancel any employee who is working an overtime shift on a rotating basis using inverse seniority;
b) Cancel contract registry/travelers within the affected job classification and affected department/unit;
c) Cancel SAN employees within the affected job classification and department/unit on a rotating basis using inverse seniority;
d) Offer employees an education day in order to complete CEUs or other educational requirements pursuant to Article 12.2 on a rotating basis beginning with the most senior employee; employees must provide documentation to the manager; for calculation of time, one continuing education contact hour will be equal to one hour of Education Leave up to the balance of the shift being cancelled;
e) Solicit volunteers on a rotating basis beginning with the most senior employee from among employees in the affected department who are presently at work and, if time permits, among those scheduled to arrive for the upcoming shift. Employees who volunteer to be canceled may take the shift as unpaid or vacation time if accrued and available;
f) Float employees pursuant to the Float Policy attached as Side Letter #3 to an alternative assignment.
g) If an employee declines to float, then the employee shall be considered to have opted to voluntarily be canceled pursuant to ‘e’ above.
6.14.2. AHS agrees that in the implementation of this policy, it shall continue to give first priority to the delivery of high quality patient care for reasonably projected increases in census and acuity.
Low Census Procedure. AHS will provide employment security to bargaining unit employees by making every effort to avoid displacing employees (e.g., reduction in force, reduction in hours, elimination on a temporary, indefinite, or permanent basis, etc.) insofar as it is feasible. There shall be no daily cancellations except that nothing herein shall preclude AHS from canceling shifts of SANs and extra shifts.
Low Census Procedure. Nurses scheduled to work in a unit and shift experiencing Low Census will have their shift or portion of their shift cancelled in the following sequence:
1. Agency, Traveler, or ShareCare nurses.
2. Nurses whose work would be payable at overtime or incentive shift premium.
3. Volunteers, with the earliest request for time off given preference.
4. Per diem nurses.
5. Remaining nurses in accordance with the unit’s Low Census rotation system. The system of Low Census rotation shall be written and communicated by the manager, in consultation with the nurses on the unit. Nurses on a unit may change the system of rotation by majority vote, provided that the system is approved by the unit manager and is in writing.
