About those rats at your facility ...
About those rats at your facility ...
Of the things I really like about our readers (and there are many), three come to mind immediately. Our readers are typically: 1) hungry for good, current information, 2) proud of their profession (almost to a fault) and 3) not afraid to challenge statements they don't agree with.
No. 3 is obvious by the healthy flow of comments posted underneath our stories online. New conversations, sometimes even arguments, break out and that is great to see. It means we're hitting the mark … and so are you.
But I think we might have caught some of you sleeping not long ago. That's the only way I can explain what happened – or should I say what did NOT happen. It has to do with a story that offered unflattering comments about your workers.
In a nutshell, the item said you've been hiring a bunch of drug-ingesting no-goods. “Like rats coming out of the alley,” said one purported expert, describing an exodus of nursing home employees fueled by a rise in drug testing.
The result is an even tighter labor market, she observed. There's no argument that the competition for skilled, qualified long-term care workers is incredible tough in most areas. But it was a shocker to see that broadside about supposed worker drug-use go unanswered. And let's face it, your hiring practices — albeit indirectly — also were being criticized.
Unfortunately, a lack of any kind of rebuttal gives the impression that the observation was correct as stated. Could that be?
