Nurses Get The Cure, But Office Pay Is Still Ill

October 11, 1989|By Ann Landers.

Dear Ann Landers: You have probably had it up to here with letters to, from and about nurses, but I hope you will print just one more. It`s different from the others.

I work in a hospital where the nurses are treated like royalty. Not only have their paychecks doubled in the last year, but there is talk of another raise for them.

I realize that nurses have been underpaid for a long time and I don`t begrudge them the new respect they are getting, but there is a lot of anger and hostility toward nurses in this hospital because employees in other departments are being overlooked.

I work in billing and haven`t seen a pay raise in five years. If you think the headaches are only on the medical floor, try dealing with a patient after he receives a blockbuster of a bill. (The $7 aspirin one of your readers complained about is just the tip of the iceberg.)

We are threatened, sworn at and harassed on a daily basis by irate patients and their family members. This office is grossly understaffed. We struggle to handle 150 claims a week. If we are no more than a month behind we feel wonderful. When we send out Medicare claims we keep our fingers crossed and pray that the government regulations didn`t change the previous week.

Handling hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue and trying to stay sane is not easy in this squirrel cage, but the administrators look the other way and we are rarely given a compliment, much less a small bonus.

I believe it`s time that the people in power took notice of the office staff without which no hospital could operate for a single day. We are truly the forgotten people, Ann. Please say a word for us.

Out of the Loop in Iowa

Dear Iowa: You have said a good many words yourself and they pack a more powerful punch than anything I might say. Your complaint sounds valid to me. I hope this letter helps the cause.

Dear Ann Landers: Recently we moved to this community and I had to make a phone call before our phone was installed. I went to our neighbor`s house and was shocked at what I saw. There were stacks and stacks of newspapers and magazines in the living room, the hallway, the bathroom and the kitchen. I noticed that they were addressed to a variety of people.

The woman`s husband is a mail carrier who works for the Houston post office. Apparently, he takes home any magazine or newspaper that interests him. When I asked his wife if this was against the law, she said, ``All mail carriers do it.`` I asked if there is any supervision. She replied, ``The postmaster knows about it but doesn`t say anything because they are good friends and he takes magazines, too.``

Ann, is it true that all mail carriers do this and their supervisors are in on it? If so, postmasters should be investigated for covering up thievery. Newspaper and magazine companies all over the country must get a lot of complaints from irate customers. And what about the lost revenue?

Have you ever heard of this sort of thing? We are new in these parts and I don`t want to get into trouble with the neighbors, but I am outraged. What should be done?

No Name Please

Dear No Name: That mail carrier should be reported to the postmaster general in Washington. The man may be mentally ill. His behavior sounds more sick than crooked.

