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Utah County residents may not be able to get a driver's license on Fridays anymore, but while the rest of the state acclimates to the new four-day work week it will be business as usual at the Utah State Hospital in Provo.
Because the hospital's 325 patients and clients require services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, most employees will stick with the same schedules they have always worked. Administrative staff will be off on Fridays, but psychologists, nurses and other care staff will be on call around the clock, according to Elizabeth Sollis, a spokeswoman with the Utah Department of Human Services, which oversees the hospital.
Many of the hospital's employees never worked five-day weeks to begin with because of the agency's flexible scheduling, Sollis said. The nurses work 12-hour shifts, while clinical staff such as psychologists and occupational therapists work 10-hour days. Those 10-hour shifts are staggered, so the clinical staff is always on hand on Fridays.
"Obviously, patient and client safety and care is a priority," Sollis said.
Only 274 of the hospital's 800 employees worked five-day weeks to begin with, and most will likely continue to do so, regardless of what their counterparts at other state agencies are doing, Sollis said. The direct care staff is continuing with the eight-hour work day while other state employees work 10 hours because, as with the other employees, they are required to provide round-the-clock care. Even the mental health court that conducts competency reviews will continue to hold hearings on Fridays, Sollis said.
"None of the programs have been impacted," she said.
The Utah State Hospital is not alone.
There are numerous state agencies that are eschewing Gov. Jon Huntsman's new four-day work week so they can continue to provide services 24 hours a day.
Jean Mills-Barber, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Resources Management, said Utah Highway Patrol, the Department of Corrections and the Utah State Developmental Center will not be affected by the new work week schedule for state employees.
"I had suggested that we let the prisoners take over on Fridays, but that didn't go (over) well," Mills-Barber joked, illustrating the need for agencies such as the Utah State Prison to ignore the new schedule.
Additionally, the Utah State Office of Education will continue working the eight-hour, five-day schedule, because that is the schedule that Utah's public schools operate on, Mills-Barber said.
"It just wouldn't make sense for some of (those agencies) to go on that schedule. It's based on business needs and the customer needs," Mills-Barber said. "Certainly those 24-hour service groups would not be able to go to shutting down on Fridays."
Huntsman's "Working 4 Utah" program went into effect last week, putting Utah in the national spotlight. By having most state employees work 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, Huntsman said the state will save millions of dollars in utility costs.
Utah has about 24,000 state employees, about 17,000 of which will switch over to the new schedule.
Mills-Barber said other agencies that must provide 24-hour services are still looking into the possibility of working 10-hour days, but staggering the employees' schedules so that the services will still be available seven days a week.
Sollis said the Utah State Hospital is considering such a schedule for its remaining five-day-a-week employees.
"Those decisions are made at the agency level. But they are certainly free to do that," Mills-Barber said. "It is left up to the agency, and it is based on customer need and business necessity."
• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or
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