NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Registered nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association will join supporters for an informational picket on August 12 to bring attention to hospital owner Mass General Brigham (MGB)'s failure during the COVID-19 pandemic to properly protect and support staff and patients.
Informational Picket Info
When: Wednesday, Aug. 12 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: On the sidewalk outside Cooley Dickinson Hospital at 30 Locust St. in Northampton
How: Nurses, healthcare workers and community supporters will don masks and maintain responsible social distances as they picket. Media are welcome to attend and follow similar social distancing guidelines.
"We are calling attention to the need for improved patient care and safety conditions at Cooley Dickinson Hospital as well as the lack of support and transparency the hospital has given nurses and other staff," said Candie St. Jean, CDH RN and chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee. "The disrespect by Mass General Brigham executives despite the dedication and hard work of all frontline staff during this pandemic is appalling and further undermines our broken healthcare system."
"Our nurses have been sacrificing for our patients, family and communities throughout this pandemic," said Michael Batura, CDH RN and member of the MNA Bargaining Committee. "Nurses have moved out of their homes or isolated from loved ones. Mass General Brigham has responded by ignoring our input and imposing risky visitor and inadequate cleaning policies. Our suggestions for heightened ultraviolet cleaning, visitor temperature checks and screening for hotspot travel have gone unheeded by executives who are not at the bedside or often even in our hospital. Management's approach is insulting to nurses and reduces the safety standards for everyone, especially patients who have complex needs requiring high levels of nursing care. Instead of undermining our union and weakening our ability to provide safe care, MGH should listen to our concerns and collaborate to keep us all safe."
"Nurses come to work at the hospital decorated with signs thanking 'frontline heroes,' while we struggle on our units to provide safe, high-quality care due to bare-bones staffing, heavy patient assignments, and minimal supports," said Danielle Smith, CDH RN and member of the MNA Bargaining Unit. "The hospital expects us to help recover revenue lost during the beginning of the pandemic by getting more work done using less overtime, while they managed to spend millions on a frivolous rebranding campaign. Sick people should not make anyone a profit, and our patients deserve more time and care."
CDH nurses will resume negotiations for a new contract with the hospital later this month after pausing negotiations for several months because of the pandemic. In June, MGB announced plans to freeze pay and benefits for thousands of its employees across the state. The MNA came out strongly against this plan and reiterated the rights of MNA nurses and healthcare professionals under federal labor law and their collective bargaining agreements.
MGB is the largest healthcare system and employer in New England. With annual revenues of $14 billion, MGB is consistently the most profitable healthcare system in Massachusetts. In the last fiscal year, MGB earned $485 million in income from operations ? the system's most profitable year.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, MGB has received at least $1 billion in accelerated Medicare payments and at least $314 million in grants from a federal relief program. The system reported having more than $230 million in cash on hand during the first quarter of this year. MGB also recently underwent a branding change, switching from Partners Healthcare, which the Boston Globe reported could cost $100 million.
MassNurses.org ? Facebook.com/MassNurses ? Twitter.com/MassNurses ? Instagram.com/MassNurses
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association
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