Northside Nurses Urge Investment in Staff
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The head of the union representing registered nurses at Northside Medical Center and area legislators want ValleyCare Health System of Ohio and its parent company to show the same commitment to nurses it is showing with its $20 million expansion project.
Eric Williams, president of the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association/Ohio Nurses Association, said he is "thrilled" by ValleyCare's announcement last month that it plans to add a new patient tower and renovate existing space at Northside but "it perplexes us even further" as to why the union and ValleyCare can't reach a new contract agreement. YGDNA's agreement with Northside and ValleyCare, which is owned by Community Health Systems Inc. in Nashville, expired in July 2012.
Williams was joined by state Sens. Capri Cafaro and Joe Schiavoni and state Rep. Ron Gerberry at the town hall meeting in Youngstown. About 15 nurses and supporters attended the event, held at the Saxon Club.
Negotiators from the union and ValleyCare have met every two to three months, though Williams could not say when they last met. The next bargaining session is set for July 16.
At issue in the negotiations is a practice ValleyCare is seeking which Williams called “nurse rationing,” the ability to send nurses home involuntarily once they have arrived at work to accommodate staffing needs. The practice, which he called a “scourge,” will discourage new nurses from joining the hospital, he maintained.
“Community Health Systems does not seem to understand the problems with what they’re going to do. It will impact the quality of care,” Williams said. Nurses won’t stay in the community, he warned. He also pointed out that the vast majority of the time nursing staff voluntarily accepts time off when lower staffing is required.
“We hope [CHS] will come to the table and come to their senses over the issue,” he also said.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon by its vice president of marketing and public relations, Trish Hrina, ValleyCare said Northside is committed to “efficient operations and practices that support the delivery of safe, quality care” for its patients.
“The Ohio Nurses Association at Hillside and four other bargaining units representing nurses and other employees across ValleyCare Health System of Ohio have within the last year ratified labor agreements with terms similar to those we have proposed to the Ohio Nurses Association at Northside,” the statement read. “Each of these agreements includes flexibility in scheduling for the needs of our patients which follows a standard practice across the hospital industry. Our proposal also includes wage increases and comprehensive benefits including health insurance.”
The legislators appeared to share the concerns Williams expressed at the meeting.
“We need to make sure that those in the health-care workforce have a level of consistency where they are not going to show up for work and be sent home. There’s no question that patient-nurse ratios drive patient safety in our inpatient facilities,” Cafaro, D-32, Hubbard, said.
“It is absolutely critically important to make sure that we continue to deliver this high quality care,” she added.
“At the same time you’re improving your physical facilities you’ve got to invest in your workforce,” Schiavoni, D-33 Boardman, agreed. The nurse rationing practice makes planning personal budgets difficult, he warned. “If you work 40 hours then you know what your paycheck’s going to be,” he continued. “If you’re suddenly working 32 hours, that makes it very difficult for a middle-income family to pay the bills.”
Gerberry, D-59 Austintown, remarked that while it is nice to drive a Cadillac, it’s probably better to have a Chevrolet with a competent driver at the wheel.
Copyright 2013 by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
CLICK HERE to subscribe to our twice-monthly print edition and to our free daily email headlines.