By Miles Maguire
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to raise pay for nursing staff at Park View Health Center by $227,000 but nixed the idea of providing $197,000 in retention pay for housekeeping and food service workers.
After about 35 minutes of debate, a majority of the supervisors backed the idea of boosting pay for non-nursing workers at the county-owned facility. But the resolution required two-thirds support because it had been rejected by the Personnel and Finance Committee.
The final board tally was 18-14 to support a retention bonus for the service workers, six votes shy of the needed supermajority.
“The reason we didn’t approve it was not for a lack of respect for what’s going on over there,” said Supervisor Joel Rasmussen, who chairs the P&F Committee and represents District 31 on the south shore of Lake Butte des Morts.
But he argued that retention pay wasn’t appropriate because of competition with private nursing homes in the county.
Park View has a budget surplus “because they are able to tax, able to tax the citizens,” Rasmussen said. Private nursing homes don’t have the money to pay, he said, questioning whether a retention bonus was even necessary.
“Their employees are still working. They’re not getting this retention pay,” he said.
He also cautioned about the precedent that the retention pay would set for the county workforce.
But other supervisors argued that Park View is different and has been under particular strain because of the pandemic and chronic understaffing. They argued that it is unfair to leave the service staff behind while raising wages and benefits for nurses.
By all accounts Park View offers an exceptional level of care. For two years in a row, it has been named the best nursing home in the state by Newsweek magazine.
In unanimous voice votes, the board approved resolutions that will:
- Provide an additional $185,584 in wages and benefits for certified nursing assistants (CNAs).
- Adjust pay and benefits by $22,873 for registered nurses and licensed practical nurses (LPNs).
- Add a differential worth $16,702 in wages and benefits for nurses in the rehab unit.
- Approve training pay and benefits worth $1,922 for staff overseeing newly hired nurses.
One reason that the higher pay was approved is that Park View has had ongoing openings for 25 to 30 CNAs and LPNs, according to the county’s Human Resources Department.
The retention bonuses for service workers would have been paid for out of savings that Park View has incurred due to staff shortages.
By not offering more money to the non-nursing staff, the county may damage morale and workplace cohesion, said Supervisor Larry Lautenschlager, who represents District 19 along the north side of the Fox River.
“We don’t want to pit employees against each other at Park View,” he said.
“One of the reasons [the surplus] is there is that we have a shortage of employees,” said Supervisor Bill Wingren, who represents District 18 near Menominee Park. “That means others have to pick up the ball.”
Under these circumstances the retention pay would not set a precedent, he said.
But Supervisor Vicki Schorse, who represents District 15 north of the UW Oshkosh campus, said Park View employees already receive “extremely competitive wages” and have access to the state pension system.
She warned that there will be complaints from other nursing homes about higher compensation at Park View given the raises that were approved.
“We’re probably going to get some flak for what we have done today,” she said.
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County will boost pay for many nursing home employees but not all - Oshkosh Examiner
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