Friday, May 15, 2020

Nurses...

About us - Long Island Jewish Valley Stream | Northwell Health


Exhausted nurses at Major New York’s hospital system say they feel “shafted” and “taken advantage of” after learning the crisis pay that was introduced just four weeks ago amid the hell of the coronavirus pandemic is being suddenly terminated.
The decision to scrap the $250-a-week hazard pay after just four weeks, effective, comes after three other Empire State hospitals, Northwell Health, NewYork-Presbyterian and NYU Langone, paid front-line staff lump-sum bonuses of at least $2,500.
“With the reduction in COVID-19 patient volumes to approximately one-third of our peak, we will be ending crisis pay for those receiving it effective May 16,” the memo read.
There is another crisis taking place as we speak, slow business. Just a thought.

Storage...

Crude futures gain 4.19%, WTI trades above $26 a barrel ...



One trader bought 250,000 barrels of oil and secured a rare payout at a time when oil prices turned negative, causing jitters in markets and leaving most other traders scrambling to find storage options across both sides of the Atlantic, Bloomberg reported.

But for BB Energy, a London-based trading house, the historic oil market crash was golden opportunity owed to its competitive advantage of having storage capacity over other firms. 

US oil prices hit an all-time low of -$37.63 on April 20 due to an extreme shortage in storage options for oil, meaning most traders apart from BB Energy had to effectively pay traders to take the oil off their hands. 

It remains unknown whether BB Energy is still holding on to the barrels it bought and how much the trading-house paid (or indeed was paid) for them as well as how much it made.

Trend...

Granlund cartoon: Biden running - Opinion - Boone News-Republican ...


A top adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) presidential campaign warned in a memo on Friday that former Vice President Joe Biden could lose the election in November because "a significant portion" of Sanders's supporters are "currently unsupportive and unenthusiastic" about his candidacy.
The memo, written by Jeff Weaver, who recently launched the America's Promise PAC aimed at turning out progressives for Biden, said the presumptive Democratic nominee faces a "clear and dangerous trend" that could block his path to the White House if he does not address his shortcoming with Latinos, working-class voters and young people.

A float...

How would overwhelmed hospitals decide who to treat first?


Several health system CEOs and leadership members are forgoing or donating pay during the COVID-19 outbreak as systems face furloughing workers due to low revenue.
It is the latest bid by hospital systems to stay afloat financially as low patient volume and cancellation of elective procedures have plummeted revenues.
Here are some of the system CEOs and leaders that have donated their pay:
  • A large hospital network in New York City, announced last week that CEO, and the system’s leadership team will take a 50% pay cut “for as long as necessary so that these dollars can be directed to our front lines in this fight,” a statement said.  

  • Erlanger Health System, a seven-hospital system in Tennessee and North Carolina, announced March 30 it is reducing leadership pay in addition to furloughing some administrative employees, suspending 403(b) retirement contributions and stopping vacation accruals.

  • The CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare System, a two-hospital network in Massachusetts, will donate his monthly salary of $78,000 for April to the system’s resources, according to a report in Boston Business Journal. CEO Michael Lauf told the journal that the system plans to keep paying workers for the next two weeks and will not be doing furloughs yet.

  • Major hospital system HCA Healthcare, which has 184 hospitals across the country, announced that CEO Sam Hazen will donate his April and May salary to a fund intended to help employees weather a reduction in hours.

  • Beth Israel Lahey, a 12-hospital system in Massachusetts, also will have its CEO take a 50% pay cut and the rest of the leadership team a 20% cut, according to a report in NPR.

Thursday, May 14, 2020