Bartholomew County Health Department nurses will receive large pay raises after approval from county officials.
Effective Monday, five registered nurses will see their hourly salary rise from $27.86 an hour to $37.59 an hour. Three are part-time, while the other two work on a full-time basis.
In addition, two full-time senior program coordinators will get a raise from $28.14 an hour to $38.59 an hour.
In the four years since being named nursing division director, Amanda Organist has tried multiple times to convince the Bartholomew County Council her nurses are being paid far less that what their counterparts in the private sector are earning.
During her earlier appearances, she reminded council members her nurses were working nights, weekends and holidays during the COVID-19 pandemic, jeopardizing their own health and the well-being of their families.
While the nurses were publicly lauded by county officials, Organist’s efforts to raise the salaries of her RNs were delayed multiple times by the council.
“I have come before the council before in the middle of an outbreak (Hepatitis A) and also the pandemic and was told that I had to wait until budget time (before) the requests would be considered,” Organist told the council. “I cannot wait until (August) for this situation. If this isn’t addressed soon, I‘m afraid the community members will suffer from the lack of services that we can provide, and we will not be able to function to the best of our abilities should another emergency arise.”
While not an emergency at this point, Organist told the council there has been an increase in both sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis.
During this month’s council meeting, Organist found a valuable ally, new council member Leah Beyer.
“(Organist) is not going to get anyone hired at these rates,” said Beyer in regard to the current $27.86 an hour rate for registered nurses. “I called several of my nursing friends and they laughed out loud. (Organist) is just going to lose more people because they’re stressed out.”
There have been two vacant positions in the nursing division for more than a year. Although 13 applicants were interviewed, all candidates declined due to the low pay, Organist said.
The nursing division director also said a salary study conducted by consultant Kent Irwin does not reflect her department’s real competition, Organist said.
“I am competing with local provider offices and the local hospital … not with other counties,” she explained.
To illustrate her point, Organist said a local hospital pays a new RN graduate $39.50 an hour and a $37,500 signing bonus, while a long-term care facility pays $39.50 an hour and a $15,000 signing bonus, Organist said.
Elsewhere, an agency RN receives $40 an hour and a $12,500 signing bonus, while a dialysis RN receives $38.65 an hours, but doesn’t work nights and only occasionally on weekends.
Many of the positions outside of county government have benefits that are not currently available to them, according to fact sheets distributed by Organist.
Another factor is that the Bartholomew County Health Department already has grants and budgeted funds to pay for those salary increases through the rest of the year.
Future funds to support the raises will be available if Senate Bill 4, which creates a public health commission, is approved by the Indiana General Assembly. If the measure passes, Organist anticipates the Bartholomew County Health Department is expected to received an additional $2 million a year.
The bill passed the full Senate 41 to 7 on Feb. 23, while the House gave it their blessing Monday by a vote of 78-21. The measure has been sent back to the Senate with amendments.
While a few other concerns were voiced, it was council member Mark Gorbett who ended the debate.
“We have put you on the back burner numerous times,” Gorbett said. “We’ve known your problems, and we need to address them. I appreciate what you have done for the past several years for your people.”
The raises were approved with a vote of 6-1. Councilman Bill Lentz cast the only nay vote.
