Nurse power won some victories at the bargaining table but it’s going to take even more action to win the full respect that we deserve. Together, we won:

A tentative agreement on respite pay that accounts for staggered start times.

• Management told us they’re in agreement with our proposal for a Roth 403(b) - and they’re rolling it out to employees this month.
• After Nurses spoke out about equipment issues, repairs in the ER are finally underway.

Despite this, management still fails to see the value of Nurses.

Their compensation proposal wouldn’t begin to make a dent in our hospital’s recruitment and retention issues.

• They proposed increasing standby pay by only 50 cents.
• They proposed requiring participants of the Clin 3 and 4 clinical ladder levels to have a BSN and MSN respectively, but their proposal to increase tuition reimbursement by only $500 would impose a substantial cost on Nurses to meet the requirement.
• We proposed to increase charge pay and they rejected any increase to charge pay.
• They rejected our chemotherapy differential.

Let’s make our voices heard! Sign the petition and send a clear message to management. We demand a contract that protects patients and nurses, promotes recruitment and retention, and respects Nurses and the care we provide

How do we make management listen to us and respect Nurses’ concerns? By taking action!

Member Voices

Unfortunately, we have had an increase in pediatric traumas that require specialized care from Nurses with pediatric ICU competencies. In the PACU we currently don’t have these competencies but are forced to assume care of these types of patients.

Our concern is that without a specialized team with pediatric competencies and effective pediatric protocols patient safety can be jeopardized, especially when it comes to weight-based medication dosing.

There are policies intended to address this shortfall, such as the code white guidebook to address weight-based dosing. But the reality is that there’s no policy workaround that can effectively substitute for nursing experience, effective protocols and frequent education.

And let’s not forget to mention the emotional and psychological trauma that we all experience when caring for these acutely ill pediatric traumas and their families.

That’s why we proposed the creation of a specialized team with the competencies to care for these critical young patients. We already have rapid response teams, code blue teams, code white teams, but nothing for pediatric ICU patients. Management responded with a proposal that stripped out our language on defining the members of this pediatric ICU response team and restricting management from assigning these patients to nurses who don’t have validated competencies. We need better education, preparation and support.

— Forrest Johnson, RN
PACU