We have all heard stories about healthcare facilities phasing out LPN/LVN’s…I have yet to find an actual article about this, until today:

All 90 licensed practical nursing jobs at Mercy and Unity hospitals in the northern suburbs are being eliminated by next year, drawing criticism from unions that say the move is based more on saving money than improving quality.

The Coon Rapids and Fridley hospitals, which operate as one business, said the move to remove the licensed practical nurses (LPNs) was part of a plan to put more care-giving directly in the hands of the more highly trained registered nurses (RNs).

“By the time people are hospitalized, they are much sicker and have more complex health issues,” said Gloria O’Connell, a spokeswoman for the hospitals. “In response to this, over the past four years we have made many changes in how we provide care to our patients.”

The Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), which represents registered nurses at Mercy, said it sees no evidence that its members will have the staffing or the support help that they will need once the LPNs are gone.

“They have slashed and burned at the bedside the number of people that are going to be available to give or support nursing care,” said Linda Slattengren, MNA president.

LPNs typically receive one year of training, compared with at least two years for registered nurses. The demand for LPNs has been greatest at nursing homes and home health care agencies, while employment at hospitals has been declining.

In 2004, there were 574 LPNs employed by the six large hospital systems in the metro area; 10 years ago there were nearly twice as many, according to the Minnesota Hospital Association.

Mercy and Unity told the LPNs last year about the change. Since then, several have left or used hospital scholarships to get training to become registered nurses. The phaseout will be completed by June.

“We are really not quite sure why the decision was made,” said Kathy Kapla, a union official with Council 65 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the Mercy LPNs.

“It is definitely cost-effective to have a licensed practical nurse. They work in a partnership together with a registered nurse as a team,” she said. In Minnesota, average hourly wages for RNs are about $10 higher.

Slattengren of the MNA said that union is concerned about nursing support services within the hospitals owned by Allina Hospitals & Clinics, the parent company of Mercy, Unity, United in St. Paul and Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, as well as smaller hospitals in the state.

Slattengren, who is a registered nurse at United, said the Allina hospitals were setting staffing levels using rigid formulas tied to the number of patients, rather than basing staffing on how sick the patients are.

“It is direct cuts to the patient care units,” she said. “At Allina, we raised that this has been done without input from the registered nurses.”

O’Connell, the Mercy-Unity spokeswoman, said it was not possible to provide an exact breakdown of the type and number of employees who are replacing the duties previously performed by the LPNs. But she said that 140 registered nurses have been added over the past four years.

She added that LPNs are being offered positions throughout the Allina system.

“They have been essential members of the patient care team,” O’Connell said. “We look forward to continuing to work with them in other parts of our organization.”