Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.
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J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 1 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 1 9 "I once tried to keep track of what I do on a daily basis," says Ms. Bacon, "and gave up because I didn't have enough time to do that." Her experience isn't unlike the 452 surgical leaders who responded to Outpatient Surgery's annual salary sur- vey. They took on more of a workload for similar or even reduced take-home pay, while dealing with the added stress of leading staffs during the pan- demic's most difficult days. According to the survey, 11% of ASC respondents and 14% of HOPD respondents reported reduced income in 2020, while 37% of ASC respondents and 19% of HOPD respondents reported no change in income. All told, nearly half of ASC respondents and a third of HOPD respondents didn't sniff a pay raise. That's a sharp contrast from the 2019 survey, when only 28% of ASC respondents and 22% of HOPD respondents reported they hadn't received a raise, with just a tiny sliver of those receiving lighter paychecks. Many of last year's reductions in pay can be attributed to the disruptive early stages of the pandemic, when elective surgeries were halted across the country and facilities scrambled to stay afloat. "During the months we were shut down, I was working from home and took a 25% pay cut," says Leah Reyes, RN, nurse administra- tor at Dallas Surgi Center. Matthew Moore, BSN, RN, director of nursing at Comprehensive Spine & Pain in Villa Rica, Ga., also took a personal hit because of the elective surgery shutdown. "I'm an hourly employee," he says, "and it affected my pay by about $20,000." Still, according to the survey, surgical leaders remain generally happy with their paychecks. There was, however, some understandable downward shifts in mood due to the past year's stress. When respondents were asked how satisfied they are with their compensation considering the demands of their position, 56% of ASC respondents and 50% of HOPD respondents were either "extremely satisfied" or "generally satisfied." In 2019, those figures were 75% and 56%, respectively. Meanwhile, the number of "generally" and "extremely" dissatisfied leaders rose, from 15% for ASC respondents in 2019 to 24% in 2020, and from 26% to 31% for HOPD respondents. It's difficult to imagine a more passionate, dedi- cated group of people than healthcare profession- als, but the last year has placed extraordinary physical, mental and financial strain on many in the industry. About one-third of ASC and HOPD respondents say the pandemic caused them to consider leaving health care or retiring earlier than they had planned. "I've been a nurse for 34 years, and an adminis- trator for 15, and this has been the toughest year of my career," says Wende Dixon, RN, BSN, CNOR, CASC, administrator at Mohawk Valley Endoscopy Center in Utica, N.Y. She took a 20% pay cut when her center shut down for two months in the early stages of the pandemic. "I'm thinking more serious- ly of retiring now than I ever have before," she says. For Christa Watson, RN, BSN, PHN, surgical services manager at Westfields Hospital and Clinics in New Richmond, Wis., the past year felt like it would never end. "The amount of time spent reset- ting surge plans and having other departments unravel them has been exhausting," she says. "Staff and physicians are burnt out." North Pinellas Surgery Center in Dunedin, Fla., remained open on Fridays for urgent cases during the first eight weeks of the pandemic. LEADING BY EXAMPLE Dan Stannard, RN, BSN, makes the rounds to check in with staff and meet with patients. Red Hills Surgical Center