Massachusetts Nurse Newsletter :: May 2006
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PRST STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit #2226 Worcester, MA January/FebruaryMay 2006 2006 THE NEWSLEttER OF THE MASSACHUSEttS NURSES ASSOCIATION www.massnurses.org VOL. 77 NO. 4 Inside… Compromise bill on RN staffing includes Single-payer health care:care .............2 Affordable prescription drugs ......2 safe limits on nurses’ patient assignments President’s column ......................3 Executive director’s column: After many days and more than 15 hours of nego- amendments to deal with a growing crisis in pa- HospitalBargaining industry unit updates Web scam............... ........35 tiations between legislative leaders, the MNA and tient safety in the state’s acute care hospitals. The the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the leader- nurses’ measure called for setting safe limits on MNASummer on Beaconreading Hill:ideas .............8-9 ship of the House of Representatives has completed the number of patients assigned to a nurse, while Comparing House/Senate Health & Safety .........................10 a compromise bill to guarantee safe RN staffing in all the MHA proposal called for funding to support health care reform plans ...........4 Massachusetts hospitals, with a debate and potential recruitment of new nurses with no changes in cur- MNABeacon preliminary Hill briefs ballot ...................... ..............114 vote on the measure scheduled for May 23. The mea- rent staffing patterns in hospitals. sure calls on the DPH to set safe limits on nurses’ Negotiations between the MNA and the MHA Medicare’sConsent to newserve drug forms program .......11, ..... 126 patient assignments, prohibits mandatory overtime were led by House Majority Leader John Rogers and includes initiatives to increase nursing faculty and continued until the final wording of the bill SafePeer RNassistance staffing programs....................... .........7-913 and nurse recruitment. The law, when enacted, would was finished and presented to both sides. The ne- make Massachusetts the second state in the nation to gotiations culminated with a meeting in the office LaborMNA discounts Education: .......................... 14 set a safe limit on the number of patients assigned to of House Speaker Sal DiMasi, where the MNA Leaders in labor history .............10 a nurse at one time. accepted the compromise and a May 23 date was Emergency nurse registry .........15 The effort to reach a compromise began in earnest set for a floor debate on the bill. Bargaining unit updates.............11 during the week of April 24, when advocates for both State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, House chairman of New CE courses ...................16-17 sides of the issue flooded the State House to influence the Joint Committee on Public Health, said he is Rep. Christine Canavan (D- Remembering Liz Joubert .........12 debate over competing amendments introduced as proud of the compromise language and commended Brockton) has spearheaded part of the House budget for 2007. the leadership of Rogers, as well as the lead- the nurse staffing bill effort A ‘sham’ Magnet designation .....12 The MNA and the MHA had filed competing See Compromise, Page 4 for several sessions. Health & Safety: Compromise addresses hospital industry objections Safe patient handling .........14-15 Vinyl medical gloves ................15 Hospital industry objections The compromise bill Lessons from SARS? ..............16 Legislators setting staffing levels. Directs the DPH to undergo a vigorous regulatory process utilizing MNA election info .................17-19 research, data, patient outcome information and expert testimony to develop safe standards and limits. TravelLabor to Europe Education: with MNA Family ........21 Flexibility. Staffing based on patients needs. & Medical Leave Act Continuing education ............22-23 Financially strapped hospitals’ ability to comply. Provides hospitals in legitimate financial distress a time-limited See Pages 6-7 waiver process to comply. MNA member discounts ............24 Penalty and fine process too strict. Provides for a balanced process, reduced fines and the discretion of DPH during non-compliance review. Medical mission wish list ...........25 Mass. Nurses Need to focus more on recruitment of nurses. Includes nurse faculty and recruitment initiatives put forth in their Peer support groups ..................25 own bill. Foundation MetroWest Medical Center nurses hold informational picket Annual Golf Tournament The registered nurses of the Leonard Morse campus of MetroWest Medical Center conducted informational picketing outside the main June 29 entrance to the facilityfrom 1–5 p.m. on May 1 (International Labor Day) as contract talks with management stalled over the nurses’ call for a competitive wage scale with area hospitals and the maintenance Details, Page 18 of their current level of health insurance benefits. “We want the public to know that we are losing valuable staff and, with them, our ability to deliver quality care—simply because our wages are among the lowest in the region,” said Laura Hunter-Brooks, RN, an intensive care unit nurse and the co-chair of the nurses’ local bargaining unit. For the latest The 221 registered nurses at MetroWest/Leonard Morse are attempt- developments ing to negotiate a new contract and their first with Vanguard Health impacting nurses, Systems, a multi-billion dollar, for-profit health care corporation that is based in Nashville, Tenn. visit the An energetic group of MetroWest RNs waves to passersby. At a time when the competition for nurses is intense and the salaries MNA Web site, of nurses are on the rise, the nurses at MetroWest Medical Center are counterparts at nearby Caritas Norwood Hospital and the wages that www.massnurses.org currently paid as much as 30 percent below nurses working at major already in place at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. teaching hospitals in Boston and Worcester, and as much as 24 per- “We are talking about nurses making between $11,000 and $32,000 cent below like-sized community hospitals in the area. For example, less than at other facilities, where you would do the same job and, in MetroWest nurses at the top of the pay scale currently make as much most cases, have better staffing levels,” Hunter-Brooks added. “How as $16 an hour less than nurses at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, can you expect to keep your experienced nurses, and how can you and between $5.50 and $10 an hour below wages proposed to their See MetroWest, Page 3 Page 2 Massachusetts Nurse May 2006 Nurses’ guide to single-payer reform New ‘universal’ The Massachusetts Health Care Trust vs. Massachusetts Government Bill health care bill will comparison using disappoint, hurt The Institute of Medicine’s low-income families, Five Principles to Guide Expansion of Coverage say advocates and 1) Health coverage should be universal. Single Payer Trust Bill: Massachusetts Government Bill: policy experts • Will cover all Massachusetts residents. • Will not cover everyone. 2) Health care should be continuous. Statement by the Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Health Care, April 2006 Single Payer Trust Bill: Massachusetts Government Bill: If the new and much-touted bill is kinder to • Is continuous. The coverage travels with the person. • Mostly job dependent and thus not continuous. insurance companies than to the low-income uninsured, we should not be surprised. We 3) Health care coverage should be affordable to individuals and families. were told on April 5 by Scott Helman of the Single Payer Trust Bill: Massachusetts Government Bill: Boston Globe that lobbyists for insurance com- • Is affordable for all. • Will not be affordable to many people. It is possible panies, pharmaceutical companies and big • Paid by income tax, federal and state moneys, and that people who currently are covered may lose hospitals had increased their spending by a employers’ contributions. All necessary medical and employers’ subsidies. third while the bill was being debated. health care paid for from the Trust. • People still have to pay private insurance premiums, Many uninsured are required by the bill to co-pays and deductibles, even though the state purchase some form of insurance through the pays some of the expenses. private market or face stiff penalties on their tax forms. Even a stripped-down, poor qual- 4) The health insurance strategy should be affordable and sustainable for society. ity plan is likely to cost more than they can afford—and the bill does not raise enough Single Payer Trust Bill: Massachusetts Government Bill: • Is sustainable and costs less than our present • Is not sustainable. costs to subsidize even a fraction of these new system. • Will add more cost to our system and will not cover costs. It raises only $170 million a year which, • Eliminates huge administrative waste, controls costs everyone. according to Alan Sager, is “a drop in the with a budget, and uses bulk purchasing power for • Has large administrative costs including billing, bucket of Massachusetts health care where prescription drugs. means testing, other eligibility requirements, and spending this year will be $59 billion.” • Plans for efficient use of health resources and advertising. Uninsured individuals who are at three initiates preventive public health programs. • Has no significant cost control capability; in fact, it times the poverty line, and to whom the bill will be more costly than the current system. promises no financial assistance, will be • Does not encourage preventive public health care forced to pay over 20 percent of their income and