Rising health-care costs put nurses in critical condition (JI Op-Ed)
http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2009/12/11/leo_canty/doc4b20c9861c633215856840.txt
CT@Work
By Leo Canty
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 12:08 PM EST
Workplaces throughout Connecticut are filled with wonderful people. You meet them all the time. They do what they do because they love their profession, have developed their skills, and have experience that matches their commitment.
These people are ready to go the extra mile to get the job done. When barriers get in the way of their ability to do their work, you can understand why they get upset.
Know anyone like this?
How about a nurse?
Nursing is a tough job. Rising health-care costs squeeze everyone, from workers and employers who pay the premiums to patients who get the care — along with all the providers in between. Nurses are on the front line, bearing the brunt of the problems created by the eroding system.
Nurses know what it takes to care for their patients. The shift from quality of care to control of costs is evident and distressing to them. Health care is more complicated than it used to be, and the grind of paperwork — dealing with staffing holes, and anxiety over being able to keep patients safe — is taking its toll on the caregivers, as well as those who need the care.
In a fair world, there would be a commensurate reward for the difficult profession nursing has become — better pay, more time off, and retirement security.
Not in the hospital world, though, where bean-counting executives make the calls to cut staff, hours, health benefits, sick time, and other things to control the bottom line.
If my life is on the line I’d rather have adequate staffing and nurses who are paid well instead of a bunch of calculator-wielding CPAs taking care of me.
A growing shortage of nurses is making things worse. Many of them are bailing out and young people aren’t going into nursing.
I wonder why.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research did a study about the nursing shortage and found that raising wages would help. Adding more staff would go a long way too. But those are options hospital directors don’t seem to get.
At Rockville General Hospital a clash has been raging between quality of care and cost controls. Nurses have talked about forming a union. They voted a few months ago, but there was a problem. The labor board was called in and ruled that hospital management had overstepped its bounds in trying to keep out a union, and that the election should be rerun.
RGH appealed that ruling but lost its bid in the second round too. They were wrong in what they did. A new election is slated for Dec. 16.
The contest is between a non-unionized bean-counter’s approach and a union’s advocacy for nurses — to work together and push for things they can’t do on their own.
I know all about these kinds of situations — my union has a connection with this election. And I know better wages and benefits are achievable with union contracts.
Labor data shows union nurses get better pay — as much as 16 percent more — and better benefits that are safe from unfair cost-control attacks.
But more important than the riches of union contracts, nurses and their unions push for better quality of care — more staff and resources, and whatever else it takes to get the job done. Labor data shows that as well. Cities with unionized nursing workforces have better staff-to-patient ratios.
This clash over care between hospital management and the nurses is one that shouldn’t be happening, but the hospital administration has pretty much defined its position. Now it’s up to the 91 nurses eligible to vote next week. They get to make a more lasting decision for the community that will have an impact much greater than whether or not they have a union.
Nursing unions fight for better quality of care even when the money guys won’t.
Leo Canty is a labor and political activist. He lives in Windsor. All columns are posted at ctatwork.blogspot.com.
Copyright © 2009 – Journal Inquirer
Join us on Facebook. Fight the Lies.