National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_OCT 11/29/11 10:11 PM Page 8 NEWS BRIEFS Maine maine state nurses association nurses and healthcare professionals won in October a new three-year contract at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital that they believe will improve nursing standards and patient care. The new contract will include rate increases of up to 8.5 percent over the term of the contract, a 3 percent employer contribution to retirement, and more flexibility for use of PEP time. Staffing language includes setting safe nurse-to-patient staffing levels in the obstetrics department as well as protecting the safe floating practices of OB nurses. A primary or secondary OB nurse may not take a patient assignment when floated to ensure safe availability to the OB when the census quickly increases. In medical-surgical, charge nurse and patient acuity language was added. Pennsylvania on sept. 26, Pennsylvania state Reps. Phyllis Mundy and Deberah Kula joined with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals to introduce a nurse-to-patient ratios bill in the Pennsylvania state House. This bill, modeled on California's extremely successful 1999 law, would amend the Health Care Facilities Act to establish life-saving minimum nurse-to-patient ratios throughout acute-care hospitals. "It's important to note that retaining adequate nursing staff is crucial to good patient care, and that nurse-to-patient ratios are an important patient safety issue," said Mundy. "I am very concerned that, in trying to pinch pennies wherever they can, some healthcare facilities are cutting nursing staff to unsafe levels." PASNAP played an integral role in getting many of the 40 cosponsors of the bill to sign on before it was introduced. "Many of the issues we are faced with on the job are a direct result of poor staffing levels," said Patricia Eakin, ER nurse at Temple University Hospital and PASNAP president. "When there is not enough staff, 8 N AT I O N A L N U R S E workplace violence against nurses is harder to prevent, talented RNs leave the profession because they simply burn out, and the quality of patient care is at risk because we just don't have the time to do everything we would if we had safe ratios." This past February, state Sen. Daylin Leach introduced SB 438, the companion bill to HB 1874. "Various reports in recent years have shown that insufficient staffing has a direct correlation to patient lives lost, and one of the best ways to ensure Pennsylvania provides safe patient care and a healthy working environment for nurses is by implementing realistic and attainable staffing ratios," said Leach. From top: Nurses from Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center in Houston, Texas held a press conference to protest the hospital's punitive sick leave policies; Veterans Affairs RNs support Occupy Pittsburgh Texas nnoc-texas nurses at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center took their concerns for safe patient care public with a press conference and rally on Oct. 27. "Occupy Cyfair" was the theme as nurses spoke out about the hospital's punitive attendance policy. This policy forces nurses to make a decision to come to work sick—and possibly infect patients or patients' families – or stay home and be potentially disciplined. Nurses stood in solidarity against hospital discipline for a legitimate sick call for themselves or sick family members – especially 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 during the flu season. Labor and community supporters were there to support the nurses. RNs called on the hospital to respect nurses and patients by suspending the punitive policy during the flu season. "Being sick at work does not help our patients, our nurses, and our community," said Stephanie Danaher, an ICU nurse. Veterans Affairs the nnu-va national negotiation team visited Occupy Pittsburgh on Oct. 18 to spend time meeting and listening to protesters and their stories. Their favorite signs were "I couldn't afford a lobbyist so I made this sign," and "Pittsburgh Loves the Steelers, not Stealers." Team members met a taxi driver who told them that he came to the protest because, that day, he had transported a very ill young child from one hospital to another. The mother and grandmother had chosen a taxi because they could not afford an ambulance. He said the child was clearly very ill. He was very emotional as he told his story.  He said he had never protested before but came out because of that incident. Nurses know this is not an unusual story, but something they see every day. Families must make choices that could endanger their health and the health of others because they do not have the basic human right of health insurance coverage. And from Oct. 3-5, NNU-VA met in Chicago to discuss changes in the VA and receive training about unfair labor practices (ULP) by Peter Sutton, the regional director of the Chicago office of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). —Staff report O C TO B E R 2 0 1 1

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