National Nurses United

News Briefs 6 M A R C H 2 0 0 6 W W W . C A L N U R S E S . O R G C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E R egistered nurses with Washing- ton Hospital Healthcare System in Fremont celebrated in Febru- ary approval of a notable new contract that gives them significant patient care and wage improvements, as well as an unprecedented prescription drug reim- bursement program for retired RNs. The four-year agreement covers some 500 nurses, and is being pointed to as an example where a public facility, in this case a healthcare district hospital, choos- es to provide the kinds of wages, benefits, and working conditions that keep it com- petitive with the area's private facilities. This round of negotiations strength- ened retiree benefits by improving the retiree medical plan. Age eligibility was lowered and the medical reimbursement option was increased. And at a time when seniors across the country are struggling to figure out the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, Washington RNs won a benefit that will directly re- imburse retiree RNs up to $450 per year for the cost of their prescription drugs. The Washington contract, as do all recently-negotiated CNA contracts, in- clude language preserving RN-to-pa- tient staffing ratios, restrictions against unsafe floating, and protection of RN practice against new technologies. RNs will also receive a 26 percent pay raise over four years. —Staff report Washington Hospital RNs Say Yes to New Contract F or the first time, some 1,500 Daughters of Charity RNs with four Los Angeles and Bay Area hospitals jointly bargained and in late December settled their contracts, a strategy they believe won them major patient care and economic improve- ments. About 600 RNs at O'Connor Hospi- tal in San Jose, 400 RNs at Seton Med- ical Center in Daly City, 350 RNs at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Ange- les, and 130 RNs at Saint Louise Re- gional Hospital in Gilroy are affected by the agreement. St. Vincent nurses will receive the largest pay increase, of 32 to 37 per- cent over the four-year contract. Nurs- es with the other hospitals will receive increases of 26 percent over four years. As with other recently-negotiated CNA contracts, Daughters of Charity RNs were also successful in inserting the state's RN-to-patient ratios into con- tracts at all four facilities. Disputes over staffing can now also be appealed to a review panel chaired by a neutral arbi- trator. Nurses also won protections against unsafe floating and an agreement by the hospitals that they'll make best ef- forts to ensure charge nurses do not re- ceive patient assignments. The contract also includes a number of other benefits, including transfer rights within the Daughters system, successor language protect- ing the RNs' contract in case any of the hospitals are sold, and notifica- tion and assurances to RNs that im- plementation of new technology will not replace RN clinical judgment. —Staff report Daughters of Charity RNs Cinch New Contracts M ore than 30 Illinois nurses at- tended a Jan. 30 press confer- ence to launch a campaign for safe staffing in Illinois. State Represen- tative Mary Flowers and Senator Iris Martinez have introduced twin bills, House Bill 2548 and Senate Bill 2270, that are modeled on California's land- mark legislation and provide for safe nurse staffing in Illinois by establishing the maximum number of patients one RN must care for. The National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Associa- tion (NNOC/CNA) and the American Federation of State, County, and Mu- nicipal Employees (AFSCME) are cosponsoring the bills. AFSCME Coun- cil 31 began pushing for the legislation last summer, but it gained little trac- tion until now. The House health com- mittee in February passed HB 2548, and the Senate sent SB 2270 to a spe- cial subcommittee that will conduct hearings this summer. The bill will be reintroduced next year. "Giving hospitals free reign to de- termine staffing ratios leads to them working nurses to the point of burn- out," said Kevin Barrett, an RN who works for the Cook County Bureau of Health Services CORE Center. "This practice simply does not work and has got to stop." Speaking at the press conference, Flowers said she sees HB 2548 as an exercise in public health and safety. The legislation will reduce stress and burnout among nurses and save thou- sands of lives each year, she said. "We need to implement a [patient] safety plan for the people of the state of Illi- nois," Flowers said. In an interview with the online news site The New Standard, Diane Ellis, a pediatric intensive care RN with Cook County's Stroger Hospital said nurses are stretched too thin to provide the kind of follow-up care and emotional support patients need. "There has to be quality time to deal with their emo- tions and fears," said Ellis. "But we can't do that unless we have more hands." —Frank Borgers Major Step Forward for Safe Staffing in Illinois

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