HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmail from BC Psych Techs regarding compensation Sweeney, Kathleen
From: psychtechs@mac.hush.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2014 10:15 PM
To: Connelly, Bill; Wahl, Larry; Kirk, Maureen; BOS District 4; Teeter, Doug
Subject: BC PsychTech lowest paid in the state
Follow Up Flag: Flag for follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
For 8 years BC Psych Techs have been paid much lower than surrounding counties. Two class comp studies have been
done and the most recent has BC as the lowest paid in the state and Yuba County being paid $12 an hour more at entry
versus Butte County at the top step.
Letters have been written to our Board of Supervisors with no answer. We have met with the our Directors and Asst
Directors with no response. Everyone points a finger at the BCEA for no representation and the worthless BCEA thinks
BCDBH should do the right thing without getting involved.
The reality is that you, the Board, need to do what is right and what is fair.
Ann Robin gives numbers that are severely skewed when it comes to the inability to hire psych techs. Are numbers have
halved since the desk audit 8 years ago. Positions that should belong to licensed staff now belong to high school grads
making more money. Poor decision by Ann considering the amount of time in an out of county placement has more than
doubled now that a Psych tech is no longer overseeing the treatment plan and medication regiment. Ann took away the
psych tech as a forensic coordinator and now mentally ill are stuck in jail for prolonged periods of time when medication
and a brief PHF stay would save the tax payers money and the jail space. The effort that BCDBH has gone through to
show no shortage of psych techs and at the same time offering to pay back student loans to new recruits because psych
techs have been deemed a difficult to recruit and retain position for 8 years.
BCDBH is a training ground for other counties.We hire them and train them and they leave for other counties before their
probation is up. This leads to poor patient care and clients are falling through the cracks. Those of us that care for BC and
it's citizens work overtime to hopefully prevent an issue in BC such as Colorado or Sandy Hook. unfortunately our leaders
do not care as much for the community as we do because most are not from our community.
Psych techs are the only class that can support their salaries. Psych techs create more revenue than a psychiatrist
because we can see more clients in a day. All other positions at BH rely on psych techs. None of the others pay their own
salaries.
If a psych tech doesn't show for a shift the clinic is in crisis. Psychiatrists rely heavily on the psych techs to point that they
cannot perform their duties without a psych tech. Dr.'s have cancelled their days because the psych tech was sick. The
PHF is operated by psych techs and would shut down creating the need for expensive out of county beds if the psych
techs were out. I've been denied vacation because no one can fill my place and the clinic would need to close without me.
Psych tech bill approx. $6 per minute which is $3240 in a nine hour day. Currently our MOU states our benchmark is 60%
or$1944 per day.
Maybe billing the bare minimum or all psych techs calling in sick on the same day will get someone's attention.
8 years of sub standard pay and we are desperate. We don't want other to lose their jobs because our billing dropped but
we don't feel management should get raises because are billing is up. Closing clinics because we are sick is not what we
want either. We are in a corner and we will do what is needed to get this fixed.
Please return emails to your constituents and take this serious. It is serious. Talk to someone other than the leaders of
Behavioral Health that have lied to you in past. Maybe go as far as meeting with the psych techs and listen to the issues
with pay. We vote and some of us voted for you. Probably less of us if this isn't resolved. We are desperate.
BC Psych Techs
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