WARREN, Ohio -- The union that represents licensed practical nurses at Trumbull Memorial Hospital says it will challenge a plan by ValleyCare Health System of Ohio to eliminate nearly 50 positions held by LPNs there, charging that it violates the labor agreement now in place.
ValleyCare spokeswoman Trish Hrina, in a prepared statement, confirmed that the hospital initiated discussions May 7 with Service Employees International Union District 1199 regarding plans “to transition to a nurse staffing model that uses registered nurses and nursing assistants” in which RNs would provide most patient care.
“We value each of our employees and have offered to work with the union to help transition our licensed practical nurses who will be impacted by this change. Trumbull Memorial Hospital is committed to providing patients with the highest quality, personalized care,” she said in the statement.
If ValleyCare attempts to move forward with the plan, which SEIU says would call for the complete elimination of all 47 LPNs at Trumbull Memorial, hospital workers plan to challenge it. They also say the move would violate the contract in place until 2016. SEIU District 1199 represents approximately 250 of workers at Trumbull Memorial and more than 600 in the ValleyCare system.
“Our community deserves qualified, experienced bedside caregivers with the right education and skills,” said Ruth Herner-Farley, an LPN of 32 years at Trumbull Memorial and an SEIU 1199 member. “LPNs are highly qualified, cost-effective members of the nursing team and eliminating this vital piece of our care team would have a major impact on the quality of care our patients receive at Trumbull Memorial Hospital.”
Roles performed by LPNs include care for the sick, injured, convalescent and disabled by performing duties that include preparing and administering medications, injections and intravenous antibiotics; inserting and monitoring IVs, applying dressings; wound care, calling and implementing doctors’ orders; pre and post-operative care; education of diagnoses such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, stroke, and heart anomalies; and monitoring patients for adverse reactions to medications or treatments.
“We should not be putting the care of our patients at risk just to increase profits for hospital executives,” said Chrissy Heineman, administrative organizer with SEIU 1199 and chief negotiator for Trumbull Memorial workers. “We have a model that works for our community, our patients and our hospital. Hospital executives should be putting patients over profits, not burdening nurses and other overworked care providers with things that LPNs are qualified to do.”
Community Health Systems Inc. in Nashville, Tenn., purchased Trumbull Memorial along with other assets of the bankrupt Forum Health Inc. system in 2010 and formed ValleyCare, a local system including Trumbull Memorial, Youngstown’s Northside Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland, the following year.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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