Friday, March 21, 2008

Nurses to kick off 10 day strike

San Mateo Daily Journal - by Heather Murtagh

Thousands of nurses at eight Bay Area hospitals will begin a 10-day strike against Sutter Health today over problems with patient care, medical redlining and health care for nurses.

The 10-day strike was approved earlier this month and will be the third by local nurses in the past six months, according to the California Nurses Association. Many nurses from Mills-Peninsula Health Services in Burlingame and San Mateo will be walking out. Two hundred replacement nurses were brought in to keep hospital services running during the walkout.

A change in nurse and patient treatment has occurred since Sutter took control of the hospital, said intensive care nurse Sharon Tobin. It’s those changes at the root of many of the nurses’ complaints.

“This is about the patients, the community, nursing practices and the future of nursing at Mills-Peninsula,” she said. “We’re willing to stand up and sacrifice so our patients get the best care available and nurses can practice the way we’re supposed to practice.” Intimidation of nurses to clock out and continue working off the clock is a concern for Tobin, who recognized the hospital is also against the practice despite the fact it occurs often.

Nurses went on strike twice previously—for two-days in both October and December.

A replacement crew with 200 nurses is in place for the duration of the current strike, said Margie O’Clair, director of communication planning and marketing for Mills-Peninsula. She was not sure, however, the cost of the replacement nurses.

Negotiations between the two parties began in May. Contracts expired in June. Most recently, the two sides met again in February, said O’Clair.

At that time, the last, best and final offer before the nurses includes a 19 percent wage increase over four years; free health care benefits; fully-paid retirement plan; enriched retiree pension and health coverage; additional staffing; and lift safety program, was presented again.

A federal mediator is being used to set up a meeting after the strike. Impasse is always an option, explained Dolores Gomez, vice president of acute care services, but not likely in the near future.

Other hospitals affected by the 10-day strike are St. Luke’s Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, San Leandro Hospital, Alta Bates-Summit Medical Center in Berkeley and Oakland, Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, Sutter Delta in Antioch and Sutter Solano in Vallejo.