SEIU Healthcare 1199NW

Investing in people and winning patient awards go together: Swedish bargaining update May 26, 2011

Swedish SMC petition delivery bargaining

Swedish has been celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and there is much reason to celebrate. Swedish has grown into one of the leading healthcare providers in the country, evidenced by several recent awards.

As a non-profit, piling up huge operating margins has never been the goal. Swedish once declared its intention to be “the best place to give and receive care” – that’s the right goal for a non-profit hospital and healthcare system. Swedish has achieved its lofty reputation – and its recent Leapfrog award – by investing in people: great nursing staff, dedicated service workers, cutting edge techs and many other top notch healthcare professionals. While Swedish navigates through a changing environment, we urge Swedish not to forget what has made it great. We delivered a petition to CEO Rod Hochman that "We Are Swedish", signed by thousands of nurses and healthcare workers at Swedish Medical Center.

Management made a presentation yesterday in bargaining giving its financial forecast. We asked for the financial documents on which the presentation is based, and we will review them once we receive them. See the May 26 bargaining bulletin in your Swedish Medical Center workplace for more details on this presentation.

We are prepared to work with Swedish on the challenges ahead - among them the “bundling” of payments by Medicare and Medicaid that will reduce payments for re-admissions and patient injury, and the rising cost of providing our own healthcare, which we have been working on together since last year – but we won’t abandon the success and excellent care that investing in us has brought to Swedish and our community.

Respect us: Highline Medical Center bargaining update May 26, 2011

Our opening message to management during negotiations this week was simple: Respect Us. Our patients depend on our work from the moment they walk in the door and we are an essential part of their care. We called on management to respect and recognize us by beginning our session with an open conversation about common issues and practices happening throughout the hospital that concern us, including mandatory overtime, scheduling, and rest breaks. We’ll deliver our proposals around safe staffing on our units and low census in our next bargaining session.

Read more about our proposals on mandatory overtime, discipline, missed breaks, EVS staffing, and others in the May 26 bulletin in your Highline Medical Center workplace

Safe Staffing Saves Lives

We know that having the right number of nurses means better care for our patients. We don’t want our patients to have to wait for medicines or treatment, and we don’t want to have so many patients that mistakes are more likely to happen.

We’re celebrating nurse and healthcare worker week May 6-12 by raising awareness of the important work we do to keep patients safe. Our union contract means we have a voice at the table to improve staffing. 12,000 SEIU members are bargaining this spring to make patient care improvements, including proposals to enforce our staffing plans in our contracts with levels of nursing care that will keep patients safe. By standing together we’ve already made patient safety improvements with safe patient lifting equipment and safe needle protections.

Listen for the radio spots on Seattle radio stations that tell the public we’re the nurses and caregivers you count on, and we want to make sure there are enough nurses and caregivers for you.

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW Joins Nationwide Partnership for Patients Initiative

Judy Hill, a Nurse Practitioner at Group Health, knows that it can be easy for miscommunication to happen while transferring patients between emergency rooms, nursing homes, medical homes, and hospitals.

“As a nurse practitioner, I’m responsible for patients with complex medical problems. Every transition point is an opportunity for miscommunication. If a patient has a list of medications and one is left off, or a dose is listed incorrectly, that can have serious consequences.”

Judy joined SEIU Healthcare President Diane Sosne, RN, MN, along with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), patients, industry representatives, and other key health care stakeholders to highlight the Partnership for Patients, a new initiative that will help save 60,000 lives by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.

Already, more than 1,300 hospitals, as well as physicians and nurses groups, consumer groups, and employers have pledged their commitment to the new initiative, including our union. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members at Group Health Cooperative are working to improve patient experiences and safety and are collaborating to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions through improving care transitions.

“This initiative excites me because it’s designed specifically to give us tools as medical providers to make that transition safer and more seamless for patients. This gives us the ability to improve safety, and increase the quality of care we’re providing,” said Judy.

We are Washington: Put People First!

Hundreds of mental heath and home caregivers rally in Olympia to protect services

Put People First! On April 7, more than 500 community mental health workers and long-term caregivers, members of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW and 77t5NW, rallied at the state capitol in Olympia, WA. The healthcare workers urged legislators to protect essential mental health, disability care and low-income housing programs by closing tax loopholes benefiting banks and wealthy corporations.

After protesting outside a Chase Bank branch, union members occupied the State Capitol rotunda for several hours; sixteen members of local 775NW staged a nonviolent sit-in outside Governor Gregoire's office and were arrested by Capitol police. By the end of the day, the Governor agreed to meet with a delegation of healthcare workers, who delivered the same message: balancing the state budget solely by cutting social and human services is immoral. Before cutting services, we must close tax loopholes benefiting Wall Street banks and other wealthy interests.

Standing with Wisconsin

Thousands across the country rally in support of workers' rights

On Feb. 26, over 2500 people rallied at the State Capitol in Olympia to express solidarity with public employees under attack in Wisconsin. That state's governor, Scott Walker, is waging an increasingly lonely campaign to take away employees' collective bargaining rights.

Kate Severson, a nurse at Western State Hospital, spoke to the crowd on behalf of SEIU Healthcare 1199NW: "What the Wisconsin Governor and others like him are doing is not simply an attack on nurses and teachers and public sector workers. It is a frontal assault on patients, and students, and communities, and the core values that helped build this country.... Wisconsin is not some faraway place. In our own state, this beautiful Washington that we call home, some legislators have drawn up plans to cut state employee contracts, lay off thousands of workers, and extend tax breaks to those who need them the least."

"It's time to close these tax loopholes"

Nurses, healthcare workers and allies rally in Yakima

Yakima bank TV coverage SEIU members and community allies across Washington state are continuing our fight to preserve basic healthcare services, by increasing pressure on banks and wealthy corporations that continue to benefit from frivolous, multi-million dollar tax breaks.

This week, nurses, healthcare workers and other community advocates held vigils in Bellingham and Yakima, asking Bank of America officials to sacrifice their tax break in order to help save Basic Health and other essential programs facing cuts.

Check out TV coverage of the Yakima rally, and join our union's Facebook page for photos and more information!

Who should we stand up for? Patients or corporations?

As our state legislature decides how to close the budget gap, healthcare workers are making sure that the debate isn't simply about which programs to cut, and by how much? We're asking legislators to think about which is really more important for the people of Washington: tax breaks for frivolous services and for wealthy corporations, or healthcare for our patients and families?

That's the real choice we face. With the Basic Health Plan on the chopping block, 100,000 people risk losing their health insurance. Meanwhile, Wall Street banks are enjoying $100 million a year in tax breaks. Does that seem fair?

This week, nurses and healthcare workers took that question straight to the bank--the Bank of America in Olympia. Check out this video:

Want to get involved?

SEIU members have led community vigils for a fair budget in Seattle, Olympia, Everett, and Mt. Vernon--and are now planning more vigils in other places, including Bellingham and Yakima. Get involved-- talk to your organizer, or email Action Center. By working together, we can make a difference for our clients, patients, and the communities we serve.

Nurses and healthcare workers take aim at frivolous tax breaks

Union members rally to save Basic Health

Save Basic Health banner Over 100 nurses and healthcare workers marched to surround the Bank of America in Olympia, WA, and asked the bank to give back its multi-million dollar state tax break. Along with other tax breaks for corporations and luxury services, those funds could instead be used to save Basic Health and other essential programs threatened with budget cuts.

A delegation led by union Vice President Grace Land asked to meet with bank managers, calling upon them to support a repeal of the tax exemptions they receive. When bank officials refused to meet with them, the entire group instead headed to the Capitol grounds to meet with legislators as part of SEIU 1199NW's Lobby Day.

Save Basic Health signs “Basic Health could be eliminated in the state budget, but we’re still allowing Wall Street banks to profit with millions in tax breaks. We’re essentially giving revenue away, but we don’t know where our patients or families will go for healthcare. It doesn’t make sense, and it’s not right,” said Vicki Neumeier, RN.

“We’re already seeing too many uninsured patients in our Emergency Rooms, and we’ll see even more if we lose Basic Health. These kinds of tax loopholes are money on the table that could be used to help patients,” said Don Miller, RN.

Healthcare workers step up calls to end tax breaks for banks

On Feb. 2, SEIU members in Mt. Vernon led a candlelight vigil to tell our neighbors that we need to close tax loopholes for wealthy corporations instead of cutting programs like Basic Health. Vigil participants included mental health and healthcare workers from Catholic Community Services and Compass Health, along with other community allies.

At the same time, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members took part in a Tacoma rally organized by Washington CAN, directly challenging Chase Bank to justify the $100 million in tax breaks which banks receive each year, while healthcare and other essential services suffer.

Chase action 2 Feb 2011

These vigils and rallies are continuing around the state, as SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members speak out on behalf of the patients, clients and communities we serve. Watch for details on upcoming community events in Olympia, Bellingham and elsewhere. Plan a vigil in your own neighborhood: speak to your organizer, or email Action Center. By working together, we can make a difference for our clients, patients, and the communities we serve.

Who profits while we cut healthcare?

Special tax loopholes for corporations cost Washingtonians billions of dollars every year. That’s money that should be going to help people in our state, especially the 100,000 patients who will lose health coverage, including 30,000 kids; 50,000 seniors who can't afford their medications; and 30,000 pregnant women who lose critical prenatal support to keep their babies healthy. When people don't get the healthcare they need, it costs us all more.

Many tax giveaways look small but add up, and would make a difference to help fund healthcare services for our patients and families:

• Giveaways to Wall Street banks: $100 million per year
• Sales tax exemption on elective cosmetic surgery: $8 million per year Includes: teeth whitening, and laser eye surgery.
• Special tax treatment of private jets: $5 million per year
• Sales tax exemption for out-of-state coal: $11 million per year
• Sales tax exemption for out-of-state shoppers: $44 million per year
• Sales tax exemption for fertilizer: $40 million per year
• Sales tax exemption for consumer services: $100 million per year. Includes: hair removal, massages, movie theaters, beauty parlors, acupuncture, sporting events, investment advice, and many others.
• Sales tax exemption for film and video production equipment: $2 million a year
• Sales tax exemption for display items for tradeshows: $2 million a year
• Tax exemption for Christmas tree production: $500,000/year
• Fish tax exemption for tuna, mackerel and jack: $340,000 a year
• Sales tax exemption for bedding materials for chickens: $180,000 a year

Healthcare workers in Everett say: Cut tax loopholes, not healthcare and education

Everett vigil for a fair state budget

35 healthcare workers, social service allies, disability rights advocates and community supporters shared our message with Everett on January 20 : protect healthcare, not corporate tax breaks. Community vigils supporting a fair state budget continue around the state to highlight some of the many ways that state budget cuts to healthcare will harm low- and middle-income Washingtonians, while costing us more in the long run. Community members pointed out the irony of Wall Street banks and financial institutions benefiting from state tax loopholes at the same time that many low- and middle-income families are facing foreclosures.

Participating groups included SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, SEIU Healthcare 775, Catholic Community Services, ARC of Snohomish County and Our Washington.

1199NW members: would you like to help help plan a vigil in your city or town? Contact Nathan Hinman for more information.

Pro-Tech Council moves our professions forward

United by a desire to improve our coordination across disciplines, pros and techs from across the state founded our Pro-Tech Council as part of our union’s plan for A Strong Future.

We unite on bargaining issues with our nurse and service co-workers, but professional and technical workers also have unique issues. We are often in smaller pockets throughout the hospital, and up until now, there has not been a mechanism to coordinate larger groups of pros and techs across the state and think about how we use the power of the union to advance our professions.

Visit our Pro-Tech Council webpage for more information.

» Read more

SEIU mental health members author op-ed in Real Change on mental health cuts

Mental health care keeps everyone safe
Dec 15, 2010, Vol: 17, No: 50

This holiday season, many of us will be keeping in our thoughts the families of the police officers massacred by Maurice Clemmons one year ago in Lakewood, and the six people killed by Isaac Zamora two years ago in Skagit County. More recent lethal attacks involving mentally ill men and women have taken place in West Seattle, Capitol Hill and elsewhere.

These stories often play out in the media as though they are random, disconnected crimes. But as professionals working in community mental healthcare, we can see how each of these tragedies reflects failures in a mental health safety net which is spiraling deeper into crisis. Unless our state legislature is able to reverse course from a recent history of harmful cutbacks and misdirected priorities, we worry that our public safety will continue to be compromised — and more preventable tragedies will strike.

» Read more

Mental Healthcare Crisis in the news

SEIU Mental Healthcare professionals garnered press attention this week in our campaign to halt further cuts to Washington's mental healthcare safety net! On Dec. 6, Q-13 TV News aired a story drawing links between mental illness-related crimes and the budget cuts facing DSHS and the mental illness treatment facilities it funds. The article also notes the high cost of cutting such services:

"Cuts to mental health programs would leave mental health patients to receive care in emergency rooms, jails, and hospitals instead of community settings. Providing mental healthcare in the community costs $2,162 a year, while similar care in a prison costs $31,000 or $182,000 in a state hospital."

Another news segment, on KING-5 TV News, quotes SEIU's Jonathan Rosenblum, saying that recent violent crimes committed by mentally ill people "are not random, unrelated acts. They're the warning signs of a mental health system that is spiraling into deeper crisis." The Stranger issued a blog post entitled "Connecting the Dots Between the Capitol Hill Hatchet Murder and State Budget Cuts." In the Tacoma News Tribune, nurse Kate Severson reflects on the recent psychiatric ward closure at Western State Hospital, which eliminated 30 patient beds and dozens of staff positions.