National Nurses United

NEWS BRIEFS MASSACHUSETTS Q uestion: What does every bargaining unit need when management comes knocking at its door announcing dangerous cuts to both servic- es and nursing staff ? Answer: Everything that the registered nurses of Leominster Hospital in Massachu- setts have going for them: passion, profes- sionalism, strength, and unity. Those are the qualities the RNs at Health Alliance Leominster Hospital have been drawing upon over the last several months as their parent company, UMass Memorial Health Care, has attempted to charge ahead with a series of shortsighted and dangerous plans that have everything to do with profits and nothing to do with patient care. Specifically, hospital management at Leominster Hospital has been: • Laying off RNs in the ED and increasing patient assignments to extremely dangerous levels throughout the hospital—to six patients per nurse in most instances. • Attempting to combine the now separate labor/delivery/postpartum and pediatrics units into one space. This would be a first for a Massachusetts hospital, and it has raised serious questions about the safety of putting neonates in the same area as children who have serious, sometimes contagious, illnesses. "Each of these changes will dramatically degrade the quality of care at our hospital," said Natalie M. Pereira, RN and bargaining unit chairperson at Leominster. "And this is happening at a time when we currently have the best outcomes in the system and the lowest rate of preventable readmissions." Adding insult to injury is the fact that Leominster's parent company posted profits of more than $80 million in 2013 and more than $300 million over the last five years. The RNs first got active by filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the fact that hospital management refused to share details from a consultant's report that ultimately led to their layoff and consolidation plans. As part of this effort, they also participated in a successful July press conference that was focused on drawing public attention to the fact that UMass Memorial Health Care was consistently putting profits ahead of patients. Next, the RNs began gathering signatures as part of a petition campaign. Each petition highlighted the RNs' beliefs that Leominster's reorganization efforts were "a deliberate attempt to cut costs by creating a lesser stan- dard of care for patients…[which] will force staff to care for more patients at one time [and will] increase the risk of injury or harm for patients." The petition also called on manage- ment to rescind its misguided proposals. While circulating the petitions, the RNs also began distributing lawn signs to local residents and businesses that read, "Leominster Hospital Nurses Say 'Staffing Cuts Hurt Us All'" and communicating with both the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and local legislators about the proposed cuts to staff and services. As summer faded into fall, the nurses dug in deeper: On Oct. 29, they held an over- whelmingly successful "Community Forum to Protect Patient Safety at Leominster Hospi- tal." Held at a local veteran's center just a few short weeks after the layoffs were underway, the forum was packed. Residents, nurses, former patients, community leaders, firefight- ers, first responders, and local legislators turned out in force. They voiced concerns, asked questions, and offered suggestions on how the plan to protect patient care at Leominster Hospital should next unfold. Within a matter of hours after the commu- nity forum, the Leominster Hospital RNs were already charging ahead with their next effort: organizing for a boisterous informational pick- et on Nov. 12. The requisite 10-day notice to hospital management was delivered by hand to hospital management the following day, and the bargaining unit leaders used the news as an opportunity to rally members and build sup - port for the upcoming informational picket. Fast forward two short weeks: Hundreds of RNs and supporters, most of them sport- ing Massachusetts Nurses Association blue scrubs, jackets, and gear, crowded the side- walks outside of Leominster Hospital in what most were calling the bargaining unit's most successful event to date. "The nurses at Leominster will not sit by quietly while our patients and the local community suffer because of management's poor choices," said Linda Grossi, an RN in the hospital's ED and a bargaining unit leader. "We are mobilizing in our communi- ties and we will continue to do whatever it takes to prevent these changes and to protect our patients." —Jennifer Johnson Fighting for patient safety in Central Massachusetts 6 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4

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