St. Vincent Nurses Demand Contract Resolution, Better Patient Care

Friday, October 03, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Nurses from Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester took to the streets on Thursday October 2nd in order to picket with the goal of informing the public about the problems with the hospital.

Nurses at St. Vincent are currently working to negotiate a contract, a process that is ten months in the making. Nurses are also advocating for better patient care throughout the hospital by adding more staff.

“We are certainly frustrated; ten months is long enough,” said Marlena Pellegrino, RN, co-chair of the bargaining unit at Saint Vincent. “We are optimistic that we can work something out but we are really trying to stress that we are serious about addressing safety issues for patients.”

According to Pellegrino and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, there is currently a nursing shortage in several key units, including the emergency department, the intensive care unit (ICU), the maternity unit, and the medical-surgical floors.

A Long Battle

This is not the first time that nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital have been upset, as they were on strike for a period of 49 days in 2000.

While the nurses are nowhere near striking at this point in time, the picket was designed to send a clear message to the owners of Saint Vincent, Tenet Healthcare, saying that the nurses are fed up with the lack of movement on their contract and the lack of action on improving patient care.

“I have been a nurse here for 40 years now,” said Ellie Johnson, who works in the IV department. “When I first started working here things were much worse, but that was before the union came in. When we got the union, things definitely improved. But lately, things have started to deteriorate and patients are treated like numbers rather than people. We need safer patient care; we need a contract.”

A Wealth of Support

While it was said at the picket that most of, if not all, units were represented at the event, there was also a lot of support from nurses throughout the Commonwealth.

Timing the picket during the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United Annual Convention – which was held at the nearby DCU Center – the event was able to pull an event greater amount of support.

"When a fellow union member needs help, we are here to support them,” said Karen Duffy, an RN from Brockton. “We will go hospital to hospital if we have to. These changes may benefit the nurses, but the intention and the real goal is to help the patients and to get them the care that they both need and deserve.”

Related Slideshow: Nurses Picket in Font of Saint Vincent Hospital

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"This is an informational picket to let the public know that we have been fighting for safer staffing and for a new contract, which we have been trying to negotiate for the past 10 months." - Marlena Pellegrino, RN, co-chair of the bargaining unit at St. Vincent

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"We need a new contract and we need safer patient care. That is why we are here today." - Ellie Johnson, RN, IV Department at St. Vincent

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"We are the nurses, the mighty, mighty nurses!"

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"I'm here fighting for you because you fight for the families of the Commonwealth." - Steve Kerrigan, MA Candidate for Lt. Governor

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"A lot of hospitals are for profit now; it's really disgusting. We need to focus on save staffing to get patients the bedside care that they need." - Cynthia Dyer, RN from Cape Cod

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"When a fellow union member needs help, we are here to support them. We will go hospital to hospital if we have to." - Karen Duffy, RN from Brockton

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"First and foremost, we are here standing up for our patients to get them the care that they so desperately need. We are very serious about providing our patients with the best possible care." - Marlena Pellegrino, RN, co-chair of the bargaining unit at St. Vincent

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"What do we want?"

"Safe staffing!"

"When do we want it?"

"Now!"

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"I'm not talking to you as a politican, I'm talking to you as a patient. We are here to stand with you; thank you for standing together and providing care to our friends and families." - Doug Belanger, Candidate for the Worcester 17th District State Rep Seat

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester

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"I think today was great; we have a great group of nurses at this hospital who are fighting to get their patients the care that they deserve." - David Schildmeier, Director of Public Communications at the Massachusetts Nurses Association

photo credit: Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester