CNA Welcome and Overview
The strength of Chesapeake Medical Staffing depends on the clinical experience and competence of our clinicians. We are committed to attracting and retaining Certified Nursing Assistants, Geriatric Nursing Assistants and Home Health Aides who significantly contribute to the overall goals and mission of the company. Our strong management team combines the experience and knowledge of industry veterans with the energy and enthusiasm of our dedicated scheduling and operations team to ensure the best choice of clinical opportunities for you.
We seek experienced, competent clinicians with effective communication styles. We only hire clinicians who are committed to providing exceptional care and customer service to the patients we serve. It is our expectation that your manner of interaction with patients, families and other health care providers is consistent with this philosophy. You will have a variety of challenging and satisfying clinical staffing assignments as a CMS nursing assistant.
As a front-line health care provider employed by CMS, you will be entrusted to constantly strive for excellence and to maintain the highest work ethic in your clinical practice. Because our goal is to offer the highest possible standards of quality care, we hire only experienced healthcare professionals who meet these stringent standards.
The Role of a Certified/Geriatric Nursing Assistant/Home Health Aide
As America's aging population grows, so does the need for qualified and caring staff to work in facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living residences, adult day care centers, retirement communities, and even in homes. Job prospects well into the 21st century are expected to be excellent in direct response to the increasing need for long-term care. These jobs offer not only competitive wages and benefits, but the opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives – particularly for “direct caregivers.”
Nursing assistants of all specialties work under the supervision of a nurse and are key in providing vital information on patient conditions to the nursing and medical staff. They also provide the most basic level of patient care - for those who need only minimal assistance to those who are totally dependent. Nursing assistants provide the support needed for daily living including some of the following responsibilities:
- serving and feeding patients, ensuring that their nutritional requirements are met
- assisting with elimination, including bowel and catheter care; incontienence care
- helping patients with hygiene, dressing, and other personal care tasks
- providing supportive care, such as lifting and frequent turning for comfort and to protect skin integrity
- assisting patients with ambulation, exercise, and prescribed physical therapy
- monitoring and documenting vital signs
- collecting patient blood, urine, and tissue samples for testing
- administering precautions for blood, air, and contact borne pathogens
- sterilizing equipment and supplies, changing linens, and helping patients care for their rooms
A nursing assistant's job does not end with the physical needs of the patients. Residents of nursing homes and the home-bound often suffer from depression and/or dementia, and the nursing assistant is often the closest human contact many of these people have. The nursing assistant is often called to do tasks that are not only physically demanding, but emotionally draining. You may be asked to be a best friend, confidant, sounding board, and overflow valve. It is a job that requires heart-felt compassion and a desire to make people comfortable and satisfied. Often, the nursing assistant has more “hands- on” direct contact with the patient than any other member of the health care team.
Certification Guidelines
In the State ofMaryland, you may work in most hospitals (depending on the requirements of the specific institution), if you have successfully completed an approved Nursing Assistant Program. In order to work in a long-term care facility, however, you must specialize by becoming a Geriatric Nursing Assistant. Certification is achieved by passing the state competency test and being entered in State Board of Nursing Registry. InMaryland, a criminal background check and fingerprinting is required prior to certification.
Employment Trends
Most jobs are in nursing and residential care facilities, hospitals, and home healthcare services. Numerous job openings and excellent job opportunities are expected. As one of the largest industries in theUS, health services provided 12.9 million jobs in the last decade. About 16 percent of all new wage and salary jobs created between 2002 and 2012 will be in health services - 3.5 million jobs, which is more than in any other industry.
Mandatory Orientation for CNA’s
We offer orientation class for CNA’s once a week. During this 4-hour required class, CNA’s will complete hospital orientations and a home health class. When you have completed this class, you will be eligible to accept assignments at all of our current facilities or in a patient’s home. We offer CPR for the Health Care Provider six times/year.
Current Assignments for Nursing Assistants at CMS
The current demand for most agency CNA’s in a hospital setting is for “sitters” – a one-on-one assignment for a patient who needs constant supervision to assure personal safety. This may be an elderly patient who is confused or it may be a patient with severe emotional illness who needs constant observation to maintain a safe, therapeutic environment. In spite of the term “sitter”, this assignment requires you to render full personal care including ADL’s, bathing, comfort, incontinence care and monitoring of vital signs. Patients must be turned at least every 2 hours, kept clean and dry, fed and kept comfortable throughout your shift. Beds should be wrinkle free with frequent linen change if indicated. You cannot leave a one-on-one patient assignment until the next health care provider is in attendance.
Scheduling and Cancellation of Assignments
You will be scheduled by our CNA staffing manager. Many CNA’s find it useful to update their availability using our online scheduling software program (TSS). Once cleared for employment, you will be assigned a user name and password to access your schedule. You will have the opportunity to update your “calendar” indicating the days and times you are available to work. The program has email in which you may send a message regarding your schedule or availability to us. Our staffing manager or designate will always notify you by phone when you have been booked for a shift. The shift is not confirmed until you have returned the call acknowledging your acceptance of the assignment. You may not cancel a shift online. CANCELLATIONS MUST BE PHONED IN TO A CMS SCHEDULING COORDINATOR.
Regular office hours are 8am – 5:30pm Monday through Friday. Please use these office hours for most of your scheduling requests. We are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support you, and we ask that only immediate scheduling changes be made after 5:30pm and on weekends.
When reporting for a new clinical assignment, please show up at least 15 minutes before the start of the shift to orient yourself to the department/unit. This investment of your time will go a long way toward making your first shift as smooth as possible. For facilities to which you are already oriented, plan to arrive on the assigned floor or unit at least 10 minutes before the start of the shift. Upon arrival on the floor or unit, notify the charge nurse/supervisor that you are there to accept the patient assignment suited to your skill set. It is expected that you will arrive on time for all assigned shifts. If for any reason you may be late, call CMS immediately so we can notify the facility that you are on your way.
The flexibility we offer you in scheduling should not result in a pattern of self-cancellations and unreliability. You may accept or reject any assignment offered to you. However, once you accept an assignment, you are obligated to fulfill that commitment. Frequent cancellations of confirmed shifts may result in termination. Our reputation in the health care community is built on the reliability and dependability of our employees. If you must cancel a work assignment due to extreme circumstance (illness or family emergency), we ask that you notify CMS no later than 2 hours prior to the beginning of the shift. If you cancel a shift with less two hours notice, you may be fined by the hospital for a late call-out. You are encouraged to give CMS as much notice as possible if a cancellation is unavoidable. The more notice you are able to provide us, the better the opportunity to fill the assignment with another staff member. If you cancel shifts due to being admitted to the hospital, we require a return to work note from the hospital or your physician’s office. Please note, a “no call/no show” will result in termination of your employment with CMS.
Occasionally, a hospital may cancel a portion of your shift while you are working. The hospital is contractually obligated to give you two hours notice. For example, if you are working a 12-hour day shift, the supervisor may inform you at 1pm that the last 4 hours of your shift have been cancelled and that your shift will end at 3:30pm. If the hospital cancels late and does not give you 2 hours notice, you will receive a 2-hour late cancel pay. You must get a time slip signed to receive the late cancel pay. Once you begin working a shift, you are usually guaranteed to work a minimum of a 4-hour shift (a few clients, such as GBMC and Johns Hopkins have 2 hr. minimums). We will notify you as soon as we are made aware of the change, and we will strive to offer you an alternative assignment if you would still like to work.
If you are informed that your shift has been cancelled when you arrive for an assignment, or the hospital does not have your name on their staffing list, contact CMS immediately at 410-321-4267. Do not leave the hospital without talking to us. You may be eligible for a 2-hour late pay depending on the circumstances. If the hospital has inadvertently made the error, you will need to have a time slip signed to receive the late cancel pay. We may be able to find you another assignment if you would still like to work.
Please carry your CPR card with you at all times in the clinical setting. A representative from the medical facility in which you are working may ask you to present your card at any time. If you are unable to produce this document, that client may send you home without compensation
Pay
Weekly payroll period begins Sunday morning at 7am and ends after the 11pm – 7am shift the following Saturday night. Paychecks are mailed every Wednesday. The live checks are dated for Thursday, and direct deposit will process Thursday or Friday depending on your financial institution. It is important for you to follow the following instructions to ensure that your paycheck will be ready and accurate each week.
You must have a time slip filled out completely in black ink listing:
Your name
Date
Hospital (client) including the unit
Time you arrived and the time you left
Total number of hours (please deduct for your 30 minute break)
Signature of the appropriate representative of the institution upon completion of your assignment.
A different time slip must be used for each separate facility. You may use a weekly time slip for regular shift worked at the same facility and unit in the same pay period. NEVER alter or change anything on your time slip once the time slip have been signed by a supervisor. Alteration of times or dates on a time slip may be cause for termination.
You must fax a copy of your signed time slip to 410-321-4980 or email a copy to finance@cms24-7.com upon completion of each shift. You may also take a copy of a time slip with a smart phone and email it to finance@cms24-7.com. If you have multiple assignments at the same facility and are using a weekly time slip, please fax the weekly time slip immediately after the last shift worked that week.
All time slips should be sent (fax, email or hand deliver) within 24 hours of the end of the worked shift. Time slips must be received by CMS no later than Monday at 10am to be included in payroll for any given pay cycle. You will not receive your weekly pay if your time slips are not received by 10AM on Monday.
Each time slip will have three (3) copies: a white copy for the client/facility, a yellow copy for CMS, and a pink copy for your records. It is advised to keep your copy of each time slip for a period of 6 months for your records. If a client disputes payment for time worked, you are responsible to produce a copy of the time slip to receive payment for any disputed shifts.
Please keep us informed of any changes to your address or phone number to ensure a smooth payroll process. We do not mail pay stubs if you have elected to receive your pay through direct deposit to your bank account. You may view your payroll history electronically on our payroll site administered by Kelly & Associates. You may contact the finance manager for information to access this information. If you do not choose to use direct deposit, your paycheck is mailed from our payroll company on Wednesdays.
Hospitals have a clear and simple policy for breaks. You must use your break or you will not be paid for it. Please take a 30-minute break for each shift you work over 6 hours in duration. You will not be paid by the hospitals if you do not take a break. Do not write “No Break” as you will not be paid for those 30 minutes. Please inform the charge nurse mid-way in your shift, to request another sitter to relieve you, so you can take your break. Do not leave your patient un-attended. If necessary, use the patient’s call button to ask to speak to the charge nurse. Your time slip should include the 30-minute break.
Please see the following example on a time slip:
Time In: 7:00am
Time Out 7:30pm (includes 30-minute break)
= 12 total paid hours
Holidays and Overtime
CMS will pay time and one-half for the six national holidays.Holidaypay officially begins with the start of the night shift (11pm) occurring immediately prior to the holiday, and lasts through the evening shift (11pm) on the day of the holiday.
Christmas Day Labor Day New Year’s Day
Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Independence Day
Please note: Holiday shifts worked at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, Harford Memorial, Bayview, Howard, and Hopkins will be paid at the standard rates. These hospitals DO NOT PAY HOLIDAY RATE to agency personnel.