I realize it's been quite a while since I taught - or was in school myself - but I'm distressed…
Morning Headlines 12/11/15
Maryland fires firm upgrading Medicaid technology, may seek money back
Maryland fires and then sues CSC for unacceptable performance during a $300 million Medicaid computer system upgrade contract.
Cerner Corporation offers US employees tough choice: Agree to arbitration or give up merit raises
Cerner is asking employees to sign an arbitration agreement that bars them from filing lawsuits against the company for any reason. Those that refuse are being told they will give up merit-based raises, while those that comply are being given $500 in stock options.
LabMD Loses Sanctions Bid Against Tiversa Over Info Leak
A judge denies LabMD’s request for sanctions against Tiversa, the cybersecurity firm that illegally breached its network and then reported the breach to the FTC.
Patient data compromised after cyberattack hits MaineGeneral Health
The FBI notifies MaineGeneral Health that an undisclosed number of patient records has turned up online after a cyberattack on its network last month.
Cerner’s attempt to coerce its employees to sign away their legal rights through economic pressure is contemptible. The unspoken choice is basically “sign or expect to get fired for some excuse” and makes the company look oppressive. Are my feelings on this excessive?
Advice to Cerner employees…give up the $500 bux and keep your rights.
Sign away, Cerner employees. The arbitration agreement wouldn’t hold up in court under current labor laws anyway; employees have a right to sue regardless of what their employer says they signed, just for situations like this where coercion is used.
At least Cerner employees get a choice. We were forced to sign it at Epic.
I also feel that these companies who force or coerce employees to sign arbitration agreements or EAs are strong-arming their workforce and agree with another writer who noted that the strongest or best employees are often the ones who hit the highway. That being said, does anyone have any idea if these agreements are ever upheld? And for the Arbitration, if there is an issue brought forth between an employee and the employer, how loaded is the legal side in favor of the employer? I’m guessing it would be. What is the point of these? Surely not in favor of any employee. Would love to hear comments from the corporate side as well.
“Medical helicopters seem to crash a lot” “no ROI” – what was the point of that in depth “analysis”? Are you suggesting that they are not worth the investment? Would you say the same of the expensive, limited deployment helicopter rescue services of the Coast Guard? It is a dangerous business, they fly in all conditions, into unfamiliar territory, all in an effort to limit the time gap between on scene triage and advanced life saving capabilities. I recognize they are not always used in accident/disaster response, this particular accident was a patient transport for presumably a higher level of care, but I also presume that if you are being cut from a mangled car and the chopper is landing 50 yards away on a closed highway, you will not be asking “was this trip necessary?”
The subject has been studied….and when you compare accidents per 100,000 flight hours, air ambulance helicopters were shown as safer than other helicopter travel. The issue is that there are more and more of them in operation, therefore the total number of accidents is up due to an increase in the size of the fleet. But when measured against hours flown…safety is increasing.
Here is an article for your reference. Some basic research is always a good idea.
http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/helicopters/air-ambulance-safety-closer-look