The Cranberry Scoop

Inside this issue:

• The Chair’s Message
• Qualify For reimbursement of Convention costs!
• Save The Dates, etc…
• Around The Region: What’s The Scoop?
• Things You Should Know…
• Fall 2010 CE Programs—Register Now!
• Fall Labor School Programs—Register Now!
• Download original PDF

The Chair’s Message
Stephanie Stevens, RN

Benedict Arnold was a patriot and brave fighter/General during the American Revolutionary War. He was a friend of George Washingtons and was a leader in the Battle of Ticonderoga and the invasion of Canada, as well as numerous other battles. He was an Apothecary by trade… a trade he learned from his cousins after his family’s fortune was lost causing his father to turn to drink. Arnold’s revolutionary spirit was perhaps ignited by the unfair treatment he received as a result…

But no one will remember all that. He will be known through history as a traitor.

He was treated unfairly… he had legitimate grievances… but he chose the wrong path.

The Profession of Nursing is at a critical point in history right now. We have powerful enemies. Our cause is just but, unless we remain faithful and united our profession and, by extension, our patients will lose. Now is not the time for division… now is the time to put our grievances aside and unite in our common goal… the safe and effective care of our patients.

As you read this message, the MNA Ballots will be in the mail. Please vote. Your vote makes a difference in everything that is done… local, state and national. Please read and follow the directions carefully so no vote becomes contested.

Please save the date for MNA Convention October 13—15, especially the Business Meeting which is Thursday, October 14 beginning at 2 p.m.. Regional Council 3 is able to reimburse Region 3 members for hotel fees and registration for the convention as our regional Ffnances permit. See page 2 of this issue in order to qualify for reimbursement.

And remember, if we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it…

In Unity,
Stephanie Stevens RN
Region 3 Chairperson

Pack Your Bags and Come to MNA Convention 2010!

Special Offer!!

If you are one of the first 66 people to send in this form, Regional Council 3 will reimburse you for the cost of your registration fee ($75) and hotel (one night single occupancy or two nights double occupancy— $104.00 plus $15.02 tax = $119.02 maximum—no exceptions) .

You will be notified by mail if you qualify.

SAVE THE DATES, etc…

• Sept 14 Primary Election—VOTE!
• Sept 25 School Nurse Summit
• October 5 CE—Current Trends in Breast Cancer Management—Hilton Garden Inn, Plymouth MA
• Oct 13—15 MNA Convention in Worcester
• Nov 2 General Election—VOTE!
• Nov 18 CE—De-escalation Techniques: Protecting Nurses and Patients—Canal Club, Bourne MA
• Dec 7 CE—Interventional Cardiology: Update on the Latest Modalities—Canal Club, Bourne MA

2009 – 10 Region Council Members & Staff

• Chair – Stephanie Stevens: Sandwich, Jordan Hospital Chair, MNA Board of Directors
• *Vice-Chair – Peggy Kilroy: Centerville, Cape Cod Hospital
• Treasurer – Rick Lambos: Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Chair
• Secretary – *Rosemary O’Brien: Harwich, MNA Board of Directors
• *Trudy Bull: East Falmouth, Falmouth Hospital
• Deb Caruso: Brewster, Cape Cod VNA Chair
• Janet DeMoranville: Lakeville, Morton Hospital Chair Designee
• Ellen Farley: Middleboro, Unit 7 Chair Designee, MNA Board of Directors
• Jean Lessard: Brockton, Brockton VNA Co-Chair
• *Kathy Metzger: Taunton, Brockton Hospital Chair, MNA Board of Directors
• Joanne Murphy: West Wareham, Jordan Hospital Chair Designee
• Nickerly Powderly: Forestdale, Falmouth Hospital Chair
• Shannon Sherman: Yarmouth Port, Cape Cod Hospital Chair

* elected/appointed

• Pat Conway: Office Manager
• Barbara ‘Cookie’ Cooke: Community Organizer

We’d love to hear from you!

The Cranberry Scoop is published four times per year by Regional Council 3. It is a publication made available to MNA Region Three members as a means of communicating information and topics of interest relative to our region and we invite members to submit writings to the newsletter, especially through the editorial voice.

We reserve the right to edit all submissions for brevity, content and clarity. Include a daytime and evening telephone number.

Email to region3@mnarn.org or please sign your submission and mail to:

MNA Region 3
P O Box 1363
Sandwich, MA 02563

Around The Region: What’s The Scoop?

Caritas Good Samaritan Hospital—At the Good Samaritan campus we have been dealing with the closing of half a floor on the unit 2c. The hospital states that there has been a 10 percent decline in admissions over the last year. We have been establishing an accurate seniority list and there seems to be many positions available so there wouldn’t be a need for anyone to lose a job. We are working with all involved and hope to have a good outcome.

Respectfully submitted,
Karen Gavigan, RN
MNA Unit Chair

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Martha’s Vineyard Hospital—The new hospital opened on June 22 just in time for the summer rush when our island population goes from 18,000 to 110,000 people. It has been a challenge learning where everything is on the fly and I would like to congratulate all the nurses who did a great job adapting to the new environment. It was described by one nurse as "like being parachuted in behind enemy lines and told to fight your way out without a compass or night vision glasses.”

With the new building comes new challenges. Despite dwarfing the old hospital in size, the new building has fewer inpatient beds. This planned inpatient downsizing, coupled with the normal summer influx of patients needing admission, has caused a problem with "boarding" of admitted patients in the ER. We have been trying to resolve this issue locally with little success so have consulted DPH for their thoughts on a solution. DPH has for the past 10 months been trying to lessen, with the intent of ultimately eliminating, the need for "boarding" patients in the ER. Their reason for this is that boarding in the emergency department has been shown to result in longer hospital lengths of stay, higher rates of recurrent myocardial infarction, increased mortality, and is associated with multiple other adverse events. They define "boarding" as any patient that remains in the ER for 2 hours after the decision to admit is made by the ER physician. Each hospital across the state has been asked to formulate, test, and implement a plan (Code Help Plan) to deal with this issue by October 1, 2010. This plan is supposed to get these "boarded" patients out of the ER within 30 minutes of implementation in order to make room to treat emergency

patients. If you have similar issues at your facility, ask administration for the "Code Help" policy or contact DPH for it if your hospital will not supply you a copy. Call 800.424.4666 and ask for the clinician on-call that deals with the "ER boarder issue.”

We also continue to pursue improved security and to a resolve a long-standing parking issue that was caused by the three-year hospital construction. The MVH Nurses Committee has compiled proposals for the upcoming negotiations. Our contract expires September 11, 2010.

Respectfully submitted:
Rick Lambos RN
MNA Unit Chair

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Morton Hospital– Despite healthy revenues and profits, the hospital announced that it plans to eliminate 43 positions within the next three months and claims that this is necessary due to the cost of the pension benefits. MNA sees this as ‘scapegoating’ union nurses and can find no justification for this action. Stay tuned…

Respectfully submitted, Janet DeMoranville, Unit Chair Designee

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Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital is fairly quiet, however, I would like to encourage everyone to attend the upcoming 2010 MNA Convention in October. Once again, hope to see you there!

Respectfully submitted
Kathy Metzger,
RN MNA Unit Chair

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Taunton School Nurses— appealed to the Taunton School Committee to maintain level staffing for the upcoming school year citing that 15 nurses, as opposed to 18, to serve a student population of more than 8,000 students is just not safe. These nurses are responsible for the well-being of hundreds of students with serious medical issues including type 1 diabetes, cardiac conditions, asthma and allergies.

The School Committee took the issue under advisement.

***********

Cape Cod Hospital—Summer is quickly passing us by and the negotiating team at Cape Cod Hospital has been gearing up for negotiations by meeting weekly throughout the month of July. Also, our first meeting for negotiations with management is planned for August 31. We continue to experience unbearable staffing shortages throughout every unit within the hospital. Our members have continually risen to the challenge and have always put patient care and safety as priority at all times. Our board thanks everyone for their strong will and belief in better patient care as well as a safer working environment. We also want to thank everyone for their continued support and involvement in the local bargaining unit. Only through continued hard work and involvement will we all benefit.

Respectfully submitted,
Shannon Sherman BS-RN
MNA Unit Chair

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Unit 7—will be returning to negotiations for a new contract with the Commonwealth on August 18, 2010. The Commonwealth is still reviewing plans for layoffs even though the Commonwealth will be receiving about $700 million dollars from the Federal Government that had been in jeopardy, in part, because Sen. Brown refused to support the funding bill. The Department of Mental Health (DMH), the Executive Office of Human Services (EHS) and the Chelsea Soldiers Home (CSH) have each offered retirement and layoff incentives to mitigate the layoffs for FY11.

Respectfully submitted,
Ellen Farley
Unit Chair Designee

Things You Should Know…

YOUR WEINGARTEN RIGHTS

With all that’s happening at the workplace these days, it’s important that you understand your rights as a union member and invoke those rights before you find yourself in an uncomfortable or damaging situation. If you are called to a meeting with management, read the following statement when the meeting begins:

IF THIS DISCUSSION/INTERVIEW COULD IN ANY WAY LEAD TO MY BEING DISCIPLINED OR TERMINATED, I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT MY UNION REPRESENTATIVE BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING. UNTIL MY REPRESENTATIVE ARRIVES, I CHOOSE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS DISCUSSION.

Want to Know More? Attend Labor School!

Labor School classes are for everyone! There are six (6) tracks covering topics that affect you every day:

• Your Union / Your Rights
• Grievances and arbitration
• Collective bargaining / negotiations
• Workplace action
• Labor Law
• Computer Training

Classes are FREE for all MNA members. Each track is made up of four two hour evening classes or two six hour day long classes and a light dinner or lunch is served. There is no commitment to attend all tracks and it is not required that the tracks be taken in any particular order.

A certificate of completion is awarded to members at the end of each track and a member who completes any two tracks will be given an MNA Labor School jacket.

For more information or to register, contact the Region 3 Office at 508.888.5774.

Fall 2010 Region 3 Continuing Education Programs

• Current Trends in Breast Cancer Management
• Accepting, Rejecting and Delegating a Work Assignment
• Interventional Cardiology Update on the Latest Modalities

Visit Events Section

MNA Labor School Track 2 coming up!

The Role of the Floor Representative, Grievances and Arbitration

Your choice of four evening classes or two all day classes

Visit Events Section

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