Mission Hospital is significantly reducing pay for nurses who work only weekends, a move that is already causing departures and that will require other nurses to work those shifts to improve staffing levels.
The HCA Healthcare-owned hospital has reduced the hourly pay by $25 for at least 63 nurses who are part of the hospital’s Weekender Program, according to interviews with nurses as well as staffing and contract documents and emails obtained by Asheville Watchdog. Many of those nurses, known as weekenders, were hired last year in the wake of the hospital being placed in immediate jeopardy, the most severe federal sanction a hospital can face.
The money was cut from a premium shift differential bonus – special extra hourly pay for employees who work outside of normal business hours. That hourly bonus dropped from $40 to $15, according to a copy of the new Weekender Program contract and emails obtained by The Watchdog.…