Salem News Editorial, June 10, 2011 Before the fact of any sale, and despite the uncertainty under which most employees labor these days, nurses at Beverly and Addison-Gilbert hospitals plan to picket next week because the current administration can't guarantee things won't change under a new owner. "They (the new management) can say, 'We don't like your pay scale, you've got too many holidays, we're going to take away your pension,'" Marie Freeman, co-chairwoman of the bargaining unit at Beverly Hospital told our reporter. Welcome to the real world.

Richard Gaines, Gloucester Daily Times, June 9, 2011

With trustees reportedly working toward a decision on selling non-profit Northeast Health System to a larger organization - with two for-profit and two nonprofits named in the competition - union nurses have called for a day of informational picketing next week at Beverly and Addison Gilbert Hospitals to spur contract talks.

Union members fear sale could impact jobs.
Paul Leighton, Salem News, June 9, 2011

Beverly - Saying the expected sale of Beverly Hospital could impact their jobs, union nurses have voted to picket outside the hospital next week.

The nurses said they have organized the "informational picketing" because current hospital management has refused to guarantee that a new owner would honor their union contract.

Without that written assurance, union leaders said, a new owner could come in and lay off nurses or cut their pay and benefits.

Amanda Korman, Berkshire Eagle, June 9, 2011

Pittsfield - An industry magazine recently named Berkshire Medical Center one of the "100 Best Places to Work in Health Care," an annually awarded accolade administrators say follows their efforts to improve the environment for employees.

The distinction, as featured in Becker's Hospital Review's May/June issue, is based on benefits and special programs, such as BMC's "Wellness at Work," which offers a range of fitness and nutrition counseling, as well as employee-administration relations.

Bridget Ward, RN, Lenox, Berkshire Eagle, June 8, 2011

Fair or unfair, the federal government is now tying Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to patient satisfaction. In response, some hospitals are resorting to programs designed to elicit higher satisfaction on patient surveys. BMC has chosen the customer service scripting program AIDET It is to be used whenever a nurse has contact with a patient.

Management Refuses to Guarantee Nurses Their Union Rights and Contract. Massachusetts Nurses Association, June 8, 2011 Beverly & Gloucester - For the first time in the bargaining unit’s history, the registered nurses (RNs) at Beverly and Addison Gilbert hospitals who are unionized with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) will conduct informational picketing on Wednesday, June 15 from 2 to 5 PM outside both facilities. Members of the bargaining unit, which consists of nearly 700 RNs, recently voted to head to the picket line after negotiating with management for six months on key issues that - if left unresolved - will threaten patient safety, as well as nurses’ union rights ... Unionized

State House News Service, June 8, 2011

Mothers of children with serious medical challenges urged lawmakers yesterday to require school districts to fund school nurse positions, saying it saves lives.

Debbie Brennan of Needham said she never thought about school nurses until her daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. At the time, Brennan was living in Minnesota, and her daughter’s school did not have a nurse. Her 7-year-old learned to give herself insulin shots at school.

Cite Economy in Broad Decline of Health in Their Communities, Call for New Agenda, a Main Street Contract for the American People. More than 150 Massachusetts Nurses Will Attend the Events. Massachusetts Nurses Association, June 3, 2011 Hundreds of registered nurses from 31 states, including more than 150 frontline nurses from Massachusetts, joined by labor and community allies will gather outside the White House, picket the US Chamber of Commerce, and rally near Congress Tuesday, June 7 to call for a new, Main Street Contract for the American People. ... Hundreds

Laura M. Reckford, CapeNews.net, June 3, 2011

After two daylong bargaining sessions, Cape Cod Healthcare and its nurses have reached an agreement in a labor dispute that culminated in a picketing session at both Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital last month.

Officials at Cape Cod Healthcare, the parent company of the two hospitals, said in a prepared statement, “The agreement reflects a shared commitment to safe, effective patient care and fair salaries and benefits for nursing staff.”

Shannon Sherman of Yarmouth, a registered nurse who serves as chairman of the Massachusetts Nurses Association for Cape Cod Hospital, said the agreement marks the end of 10 months of negotiations.

Barnstable Register, June 2, 2011 Barnstable - Following a 10-hour bargaining session Wednesday and nine months of negotiations, Cape Cod Healthcare announced an agreement with Massachusetts Nurses Association representatives from Cape Cod Hospital and Falmouth Hospital on contract terms. “This agreement reflects a shared commitment to safe, effective patient care and fair salaries and benefits for our nursing staff,” the CCHC press release said. “The contract, which still requires ratification by MNA members, offers our nurses wages and benefits that are among the best in the marketplace ...,” the statement said. ... Cape

The nurses and Cape Cod Healthcare seem satisfied after a 10 month battle. Jennifer Simckowitz, Barstable-Hyannis Patch, June 2, 2011 After 24 hours of bargaining, Cape Cod Healthcare and the nurses at Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals have come to a contract agreement - one that should satisfy everyone, chairwoman of the local chapter of the Massachusetts Nurses Association Shannon Sherman said. After a 10 hour session on Wednesday, Cape Cod Healthcare announced the agreement with the MNA in a press release. It said, "This agreement reflects a shared commitment to safe, effective patient care and fair salaries and benefits for our nursing staff." ... Cape

Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, June 1, 2011 Carney Hospital has hired around-the-clock security guards for its adolescent psychiatry unit and is requiring nurse supervisors to check hourly that “staff are appropriately engaged with patients,’’ according to a response plan the hospital developed after an alleged sexual assault on the unit. Carney submitted the plan to the state Department of Mental Health April 27 following allegations that an employee sexually assaulted a young patient. The mental health agency provided the hospital’s “immediate corrective action plans’’ to the Globe yesterday. ... Carney

Hospital says probe into sex assault on patient led to purge. Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, May 28, 2011 Carney Hospital fired the staff of its adolescent psychiatry unit Thursday, after an investigation into an employee’s alleged sexual assault of a patient uncovered serious patient safety problems. Hospital president Bill Walczak said he hired former attorney general Scott Harshbarger and his law firm a month ago to investigate the assault allegation and conditions on the 14-bed locked unit for extremely troubled teens. When he read Harshbarger’s report Thursday, Walczak said he decided to replace the nurses and other staff on the unit. ... Carney

Massachusetts Nurses Association, May 26, 2011 ... Cape

Susan Vaughn, Fall River Herald News, May 26, 2011 Hyannis - Several dozen nurses in bright blue smocks formed a noisy picket line along Lewis Bay Boulevard at Main Street in Hyannis May 19 in preparation for another round of union negotiations with Cape Cod Healthcare on Friday. More than 900 nurses from Cape Cod and Falmouth hospitals, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have been without a contract since October. The nurses’ three core grievances are insufficient staffing levels, excessive use of mandatory overtime and fair and equitable raises. They say their primary concern is not pay, although they have not had a general wage increase ... Nurses