Short-Term Census Fluctuations/Hours Reduction Sample Clauses

Short-Term Census Fluctuations/Hours Reduction. Low census is defined as any shift or period when census falls below anticipated levels. Periods of low census may be short term or may be of a longer duration. During this period of low census or other circumstances requiring hours reduction units may be temporarily integrated. Agency staff on the affected unit will be cancelled or floated before regular staff on the affected unit will be floated. House wide needs will be assessed, and all temporary staff hours, Per Diem staff and Agency staff will be cancelled on the affected unit. (The only exception is Per Diem staff will only be used to work on a shift to shift basis in those situations when by virtue of their experience they are essential to provide nursing care and cannot be replaced by regularly employed staff.) If the above actions do not reduce hours sufficiently, one or more of the following hours reduction processes, but in no specific order, shall be implemented (may occur simultaneously): • Cross-trained staff may be assigned to their cross-trained unit, • Staff will float to their cluster per cluster floating guidelines, • Opportunities to be cross trained will be assessed and may be implemented, • If staff are not needed to float elsewhere, they may voluntarily reduce hours with or without the use of earned time, • Staff will float to their cluster units to allow other staff voluntary LCDs, • Unit needs will be assessed for potential opportunities to assign staff to committee work, educational modules, orientation for cross-training, and/or cluster orientation • Voluntary availability on call, • Voluntary scheduled on call, • Voluntary temporary reduction in hours, • Voluntary personal LOAs, • Voluntary unplanned vacation, • Voluntary short term assignments (can be intermittent), • Required availability on call Voluntary layoff should be considered as last resort for hours reduction Orientation of new staff members may continue, but preceptors shall be exempt from floating for the first four (4) weeks of the nursing unit orientation for any orientee. Transfer nurses may continue their orientation, be offered short-term reassignment to their former unit (if there is a need) or take their turn at floating to their former unit and clusters. If the low census condition persists, such that volunteers for low census cannot be recruited and mandatory hours reduction is required, hours of bargaining unit staff will be reduced or placed on required availability on call, using inverse seniority on a ...