As many of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital staff are aware, an extra bonus of $500 has been awarded to select individuals for working their normal designated full time hours per week. One group specifically excluded from this bonus is the CNA staff working as PCT’s and MST’s on varying units including covid units. A mass email was not sent as to avoid causing conflict with theses excluded staff members.

In these trying times, it's believable and understandable why those receiving the bonus would be speaking openly about it, THEY DESERVE IT. But we do too… as a PCT/MST we are the first point of contact to many of our patients. It is our job to keep our nurses up to date on patient behaviors and record vital data that allow nurses and doctors to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. It is our job as PCT/MST’s  to be at the side of the bed when no family is able to visit, it is our job to clean our patients when they are just too sick to do it themselves, and it is our job to run in and out of rooms constantly throughout the shift to make sure patients are most comfortable and well taken care of.

We have been impacted by this pandemic. Our families have been impacted by this pandemic. Villages of people have had to come together to cover extra childcare, and extra transportation to allow our PCT’s and MST’s to pick up extra shifts to help support this pandemic.We have exposed ourselves, and our families to COVID-19 more than we needed to, we have worked long hours, and extra days just to keep the hospital and nursing staff afloat. It took weeks for the hospital to offer a decent incentive for picking up over time shifts while nurses were being offered $20-$50 an hour plus their time in a half for picking up overtime shifts. Again..THEY DESERVE IT, but so do we.

It is time we are also acknowledged in our participation in this pandemic. We deserve a weekly bonus just as other members of the nursing staff are receiving.

By excluding us from the bonus you, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, are telling us we don’t matter and our extra efforts are unnecessary.