Rx is needed for hospital disputes

UNIFIED APPROACH: Nurses participate at an informational picket outside Women & Infants Hospital in Providence. The District 1199 Service Employees International Union says the hospital is hiring traveler nurses at a time when local candidates are seeking jobs. / COURTESY SEIU
UNIFIED APPROACH: Nurses participate at an informational picket outside Women & Infants Hospital in Providence. The District 1199 Service Employees International Union says the hospital is hiring traveler nurses at a time when local candidates are seeking jobs. / COURTESY SEIU

(Updated, Feb. 23, 6:10 p.m.)
All has not been well between labor and management at Rhode Island’s two largest hospitals in recent weeks, with unions publicly criticizing administration for decisions they say will jeopardize not just employee job security and benefits, but also patient care.

Temporary nurses, sometimes called traveler nurses, are being hired for positions at Women & Infants Hospital, at a time when candidates produced by Rhode Island’s nursing schools are looking for jobs, according to Patrick Quinn, executive vice president for District 1199 Service Employees International Union. The union represents about 2,000 nursing, technical, clerical and service and maintenance staff at the Providence hospital.

At Rhode Island Hospital, also in Providence, the union representing Teamsters members has been told to expect up to 95 job cuts this spring, according to Matt Taibi, secretary-treasurer for Teamsters Local 251. The union represents about 2,400 employees at the hospital.

In recent months, both unions have held several public demonstrations – and in the case of the Teamsters, members authorized a 10-day strike notice last Wednesday. The unions cite issues including the loss of jobs and hiring of temporary contractors, as well as efforts to reduce benefits.

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The hospitals argue they are making sound budget decisions that retain both employees and serve patients. In fact, Rhode Island Hospital said that it has hired 140 nurses in the last several months and expects to hire 80 more this year.

That the hospital systems that operate the medical facilities are making budget cuts runs counter to a public conception that universities and hospitals are the economic engines for many cities, said Quinn.

“There’s a disconnect there,” he said. “Because the hospitals are not hiring.”

Women & Infants, which is run by the Care New England system in Rhode Island, has about 700 nurses, Quinn said. “Seven were hired last year. Seven people,” he said. Instead, the hospital relies on contracted nurses, who generally are from other states and living here temporarily.

“They claim it’s cheaper,” Quinn said. “I don’t see that. Where they save money is on training people.”

Union members are also concerned about a decision by management to reduce contributions to the employee pension fund. The hospital reported $14.7 million in profit in fiscal 2013, according to information reported to the R.I. Department of Public Health.

A spokeswoman for Care New England said Women & Infants has recruited additional nurses to help fill vacancies and to supplement its workforce during busy months.

Of the complaint about pension funding, she noted the pension plan is now overfunded, in part because the hospital made contributions at an increased level for several years.

At Rhode Island Hospital, part of the Lifespan system, employees are primarily worried about job security, because of the expectation of staffing cuts this year, according to Taibi.

The Teamsters union is operating under a contract that expired Dec. 31, 2014, and which has been extended several times to allow for additional negotiations.

Taibi said the union understands that hospital management has the ability to hire contract workers, but is seeking limits. Job security and adequate, safe staffing are the primary issues in the ongoing negotiations, he said.

In a statement, hospital spokeswoman Beth Bailey said it has been negotiating “to reach an agreement that offers a fair wage and benefit package, allows us together to continue providing the best care … and maintain a financially viable hospital.”

In the last 16 months of the contract, the represented employees received a 5 percent raise, she added.

Employees are frustrated, Taibi said, because the hospital has invested in an electronic records system, called Epic, which is intended to save operating costs.

And yet, according to Moody’s Investors Services, the phase-in of the new technology system has contributed to low cash flow, which prompted the service in June to downgrade the rating for $327 million in outstanding bond from Baa1 to Baa2.

The management statement on the union negotiations does not address Epic or its costs, but according to Moody’s, the hospital expects to recoup $20 million in savings from efficiencies achieved by the new system by fiscal 2016. The hospital reported a net loss of $17.4 million in fiscal 2013, according to figures provided to the state Department of Health and published in the 2015 Book of Lists by Providence Business News. •

Correction made to the story, Feb. 23, regarding what Teamsters officials said they were told to expect in terms of job cuts at Rhode Island Hospital. In addition, the hospital has hired 140 nurses in the last several months and expects to hire 80 more this year.

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