Contract Settlement For Alvarado Hospital RNs - Significant Patient Protections, RN Retention Gains

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 12 Nov 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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Registered nurses at Alvarado Hospital Medical Center voted overwhelmingly to approve a tentative agreement with hospital officials on a new collective bargaining contract that addresses the nurses' key priority for patient safety protections along with substantial gains in nurse rights and compensation that will allow the hospital to continue recruiting and retaining RNs.

The California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee represents some 350 RNs at the hospital.

"Alvarado RNs are very happy because we believe this contract will give us the ability to improve the level of care our patients receive, while also recruiting and retaining the best possible nurses," said, Maricela Mauricio an RN at the hospital, and a member of the nurse bargaining committee.

At the heart of the agreement were provisions to institute leading patient safety practices, including the incorporation of safe nurse to patient ratios within the contract, as well as assurances that trained staff will be available to assist with patient lifting and provisions ensuring enough RNs to cover patients during meal and break relief.

The contract also includes important provisions that will allow the hospital to continue to attract nurses from around the nation to work at Alvarado, which has recently been sold by Tenet Healthcare to a group of physicians. Key among these was protection of the collective bargaining rights of all nurses, despite recent anti-nurse rulings by the Bush labor relations board.

Provisions of the Alvarado pact include:

- Assurances that introduction of new technology will not displace RNs or replace RN professional judgment

- Wage increases of 6 percent to 25.5 percent over the next 14 months, and a four-year contract with wage reopener in January, 2009.

- Increased resources for RN patient care oversight committees

- More protections on the use of travelers rather than nurses from the community.

California Nurses Association