Why there's a 'sense of urgency' to Heywood nurse contract negotiations

GARDNER — The union representing nurses at Heywood Healthcare is urging hospital officials to approve a new contract settlement to alleviate what they describe as challenging conditions faced by nurses and their patients at the facility.

In an open letter to the Heywood Healthcare Board of Trustees, members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association’s bargaining committee said they were writing with a “sense of urgency” about the situation at the hospital.

“A nurse staffing crisis, brought on by years of stagnating wages and deteriorating benefits, threatens to completely overwhelm our ability to provide the safe, high-quality care our patients and community deserve,” the letter explained. “Our high census, increasing patient acuity, and persistent lack of adequate staffing throughout the hospital is causing nurses to burn out and suffer moral injury. As a result, we continue to lose nurses and cannot recruit the experienced nurses we need to break this vicious cycle.”

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Several nurses described the less-than-ideal conditions they were currently working under at the hospital.

“Burnout and frustration is exactly what I am seeing from nurses here at Heywood,” said Kim Fuller, a registered nurse. “They have been working endless hours, short staffed, and see no relief in the near future. We have lost 15-plus nurses since COVID arrived and there is no end in sight.”

Paula Robichaud, who has worked as a registered nurse at the hospital for nearly 20 years, said morale at Heywood had been low for some time, even before the onset of the pandemic.

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“The patients we have are sicker and the five-to-one (patient-to-nurse) ratio is very difficult to maintain good, safe patient care,” she said. “Nurses are leaving for other facilities (or) travel nursing positions as the pay scales are better. Many nurses are getting burnt out from the increase in care and some leaving the field altogether. We want to retain nurses and hope for a brighter future for Heywood when some of us senior nurses retire.”

Lisa Sullivan has worked as an RN on the Medical Surgery/Telemetry Unit at Heywood Hospital for the past 17 years. She also described morale at the hospital as very low among her co-workers.

“What really bothers me personally is the amount of managers we have and not enough nurses on the floor,” Sullivan said. “We want to be able to give our patients and their families the time and attention they deserve, but without enough help it is nearly impossible.”

Win Brown, Heywood Healthcare president and CEO, said the hospital has been bargaining in good faith with the MNA for a successful contract since Sept. 9.

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“The parties have completed eight negotiation sessions to date and have made meaningful progress toward a new contract,” Brown said. “Heywood nurses and their colleagues are central to our mission of delivering compassionate and excellent patient care to all members of our community, and Heywood Hospital is proud to have such dedicated caregivers. While the pandemic has presented new challenges for every member of the health care team, all members of the Heywood family have worked collaboratively to ensure our patients receive the high quality care that they and our community have come to know. We are confident that we will reach agreement with our nurses in the near future.”

Addressing the ongoing negotiations currently underway between the nurses and Heywood management, the MNA’s letter urged the facility’s Board of Trustees to step in and ensure a contract settlement that would improve the situation. The group cited three specific areas of concern in the letter, including a proposed wage increase that would be inadequate to help with nurse retention.

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“Nurses in the middle of our wage scale would continue to receive wages that are not competitive with other area hospitals,” the letter reads. “We have cared for patients throughout the pandemic, facing dangerous and uncertain conditions. There is a high demand for nurses in Massachusetts and nationwide. Heywood must improve its wage proposal and seriously consider our proposal for a ratification or retention bonus.”

Under Heywood Healthcare’s new health insurance banding system, the letter continues, nurses would see significant premium increases, nearly 10 percent in many cases.

“These rising costs are being borne by nurses whose health has been put at risk on a daily basis over the past 18 months,” the letter said. “Affordable health insurance is critical for nurses to readily access care and remain healthy for their families and patients. These insurance increases must be mitigated by Heywood so the organization can properly recruit and retain nurses.”

The MNA also wrote that the current staffing crisis at the hospital could be alleviated with an improved nursing contract.

“Heywood management says it cannot properly staff the hospital, and in particular points to staffing as the reason why the Mental Health Unit is closed,” the letter continued. “Yet they refuse to improve their contract proposals enough to help solve this crisis. It cannot be because Heywood does not have the money. Through June 30, 2021, Heywood Healthcare had made $5.9 million in profits. Last year, despite the worst of the pandemic, the organization made $3.4 million in profits, according to the Center for Health Information and Analysis.”

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In conclusion, the MNA letter explains that a strong contract would benefit everyone involved in the situation.

“(The contract) will build trust in nurses who are struggling under the current conditions,” the letter reads. “They will be able to recommit to the hospital knowing their dedication and longevity will be valued.”

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Heywood nurses, management continue contract bargaining