National Nurses United

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 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 CALIFORNIA R egistered nurses with St. Joseph Health system ended the summer with a bang, expand- ing their ranks Aug. 10 by success- fully organizing RNs at Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna, Calif. to join the Cali- fornia Nurses Association, and also issuing Aug. 19 a scathing report exposing how the Catholic system has deviated entirely from its charitable roots to become a purely corporate, profit-driven enterprise. The St. Joseph chain in early August announced plans to merge with another large Catholic chain in the western United States, Providence Health & Services. St. Joseph operates hospitals across California, with many clustered in the state's Orange County, and Texas. Providence also operates hospitals across California and the Ameri- can Northwest. Together, the system would be one of the largest Catholic hospital systems in the country. CNA already represents 1,500 RNs at five St. Joseph hospitals, including nearby St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, Petaluma Valley Hospital in Petaluma, Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, and St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley. RNs at several other St. Joseph hospitals are also seeking to join CNA. "Nurses have chosen the California Nurs- es Association/National Nurses United because we know the difference it will make for our patients who expect us to be an advo- cate for them when they come to the hospi- tal," said Linda Gelphman, an RN in the short stay unit who stressed the importance of strength in numbers. "That's real power for us and our patients." "CNA RNs from St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka are excited to welcome Redwood into our union family," said Kerry Sweeney, an RN in the Child Birth Center at Eureka. "We look forward to working with you to advocate for quality patient care." In unionizing, Redwood Memorial RNs said they were most concerned about strength- ening the voice of bedside RNs to advocate for improved patient care delivery and better stan- dards for RNs, such as safe RN staffing ratios, dedicated RNs to relieve coworkers during meal and rest breaks, lift and transport teams to reduce the risk of nurse injuries and patient falls and accidents, and greater ability to object to unsafe assignments. Meanwhile, the report by CNA on St. Joseph, titled "Falling From Grace: St. Joseph Health RNs Raise Ethical and Patient Care Concerns," showed that the system has strayed far from the religious and humanitarian roots set by the nuns who founded it. Instead of helping the most vulnerable in our society, the organization found that St. Joseph provides among the least charity care among the state's Catholic healthcare systems despite saving millions in nonprofit tax breaks; invests patient care dollars into for-profit companies, includ- ing hedge funds in the Cayman Islands; engages in systematic and illegal union-bust- ing campaigns designed to prevent RNs from joining CNA; and cuts benefits for employees while lavishly compensating its executives. CNA is also calling on California Attorney General Kamala Harris to closely scrutinize the merger between St. Joseph and Providence in light of the system's business practices. "RNs are speaking out because we want the community to know that St. Joseph has lost its moral compass," said RN Susan Johnson, of St. Joseph Hospital, Eureka, one of the locations where RNs held a press conference to release the report. RNs also held a town hall in Napa, Calif., near St. Joseph's Queen of the Valley Medical Center. Sharon Bryan, RN, of St. Mary's Medical Center in Apple Valley added, "We're witness- ing a hospital system that once cared for its employees and patients evolve into a corpo- rate entity motivated by profit." —Staff report St. Joseph RNs aim to reform wayward hospital system NEWS BRIEFS

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