National Nurses United

is sending to its neighbors?" said Dr. Marisela Gomez, a coalition mem- ber. "Could it be 'We don't want to provide health care for you and your families'? If this is so, then Johns Hopkins continues to be an unfriendly and discriminating neighbor in its majority African American neigh- borhood of East Baltimore." Hopkins' pursuit of low-income patients is particularly galling given that it is a not-for-profit institution that receives tens of millions annually in federal, state, and local tax breaks. In return for subsidies and tax breaks, Johns Hopkins is required to provide charity care or discounted care to low-income patients who lack insurance, or who lack enough insurance to cover their out-of-pocket expenses. Yet it falls fall short of that obligation. Johns Hopkins hardly needed the help. In 2018, medical debt sought by Hopkins in court accounted for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of Hopkins' operating revenue. In 2017 alone, Johns Hopkins received $164.4 million in tax exemptions and $25 million in rate support to provide charity care, $3.3 million of which was in excess of actual charity care provided. It ranks last or next to last among Maryland hospitals in charity care rel- ative to the rate reimbursements it receives from the state. Hopkins' excess charity care funds from 2017 alone could have forgiven nearly all of the $3.4 million sought in medical debt cases filed by Hopkins in Maryland courts from 2015 to 2018. N nu is not the only group to point out how Johns Hop- kins Hospital is not living up to its storied reputation. In April, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health named the hospital its "2019 Dirty Dozen List of Employers Who Put Workers and Communities at Risk." The list is published each year to mark Workers' Memorial Week, observed around the world, honoring those who have been injured, suffered illnesses or lost their lives at work. This year's list included 12 employers, and Hopkins was named among them for its consistent disregard for safety principles prom- ulgated by Hopkins' own researchers and recognized as industry standards. Citing surveys conducted by Hopkins nurses late last year, the report states: • 79 percent of nurses reported they experienced workplace violence, • 27 percent say the hospital ignores these dangerous events, • Only 5 percent of JHH nurses say they "always" have the staff they need to provide safe patient care • Only 6 percent of JHH nurses report they have the quality of safety gloves they need to protect them from chemical exposure and other hazards "We hope Johns Hopkins takes landing a spot on the Dirty Dozen list this year as a wake-up call to listen to nurses and address the conditions we flag as unsafe for patients and healthcare workers," said Alex Laslett, RN. "We want Hopkins to operate the hospital in a manner that supports quality patient care. We've called on the hos- pital to rectify chronic short staffing and high turnover, discontinue dangerous rotating shift schedules, implement safe patient han- dling, provide protective gear and adequate equipment and take proactive steps to prevent workplace violence." "The 2019 Dirty Dozen report is a compendium of corporate malfeasance and callous disregard for workers' health and, in many cases, their very lives. Johns Hopkins, a world-renown institution, should be ashamed to have made the cut," said NNU Executive Director, Bonnie Castillo, RN. Meanwhile, Spence, the woman whose bank account was cleared by Hopkins, continues to face further legal action by Hopkins but is fighting back and getting involved with the Coalition for a Humane Hopkins. "Only when we stand together will we be able to create the kind of community in east Baltimore that works for everyone, not just the people un der the dome," said Spence at the July 20 rally to big cheers from the crowd, referring to the iconic Gothic architec- tural feature of the facility. "In the words of our friend Dr. Gomez, when we lose our fear, they lose their power. And that's when we stop being victims, and we become survivors." Lucia Hwang is editor of National Nurse. A P R I L | M AY | J U N E 2 0 1 9 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 19 "They are scared of the power that we as nurses have. With the union, nurses will have the collective voice to hold the hospital accountable to both its patients as well as its nurses."

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