RWJ nurses union gives 10-day strike notice

[lee1]

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/middlesex/index.ssf?/base/news-1/115467083581360.xml&coll=1

Contract issue is requirement that health care procedures be done in New Brunswick

Friday, August 04, 2006

BY SUE EPSTEIN

Star-Ledger Staff

The union representing the nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick notified the hospital administration yesterday that its members will strike in 10 days if they do not have a new contract.

The notification, required under federal and state law to give the hospital enough time to prepare emergency plans to care for its patients, was filed after a day of negotiations Wednesday failed to produce a new three-year pact, according to Leslie Curtis, the union's chief negotiator.

The main issue separating the two sides is the hospital's proposed health care plan that requires the nurses to get all of their and their family's nonemergency medical and dental procedures at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick or pay a deductible of $1,000 per procedure.

Curtis said many of the nurses don't live in Middlesex County and need to have doctors and facilities closer to their homes to use without having to travel back to the hospital. She said the nurses also complain that there is an extensive waiting time for procedures -- sometimes six to eight weeks before they can be scheduled.

see rest of article

[clcrtrn]

Well it looks like it's going to happen. It's 7pm 8/23 and the management is not budging regarding our issues. There's alot of apprehension but also a strong sense of solidarity among us all. We hope it ends quickly so that we can get back to taking care of our patients with little disruption to them or their families. I have spoken to a few family members who have voiced concern about not having the nursing staff that they have learned to trust and respect as the caregivers for their loved ones,but, they overwhelmingly are in support of our cause.

We'll be out on the picket lines 24/7 until things are resolved. Wish us a quick resolution!!!

[Asklepios]

Good luck to you!

I heard some debate over this on the radio today. They were saying the health plan does not cover if you go outside the system, and there are penalty charges (on top of the policy deductibles) if you visit an ED at another hospital. That's ridiculous!!! What if you live an hour away from RWJ and commute there? If you need to go to the ED, you shouldn't be expected to get in your car and drive an hour for treatment. And if you, God forbid, have to go by ambulance, they are going to take you to the closest hospital from where you live.

I don't wish anyone harm, but perhaps if an upper mgmt person was put in that kind of situation, they might see it from the workers' perspective.

[EnergizerNurse]

Parents wary of child care as hospital deals with nurse strike

By DAVID STEGON

Gannett New Jersey

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Parents of children hospitalized at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital on Friday criticized the care their children were receiving as the hospital weathered the second day of a nurses strike.

Several parents who said their children were patients in the hospital's pediatric and neonatal intensive care units, said the replacement nurses staffing the hospital are unprepared to handle the demands of the job.

Hospital officials remained adamant the hospital is operating at the same high-level performance it was before the strike and that the replacement nurses, who were brought in through a national staffing agency, are performing at the "highest professional standards," hospital spokesman John Patella said.

The striking nurses continued their protest Friday as more than 1,000 of them lined Somerset, French and Little Albany Streets throughout the course of the day after walking off the job at 7 a.m. Thursday. The nurses rejected the hospital's latest contract offer Aug. 16 even though it was approved by union officials.

Both hospital and union officials said the two sides had no negotiations scheduled.

Florczak said she contacted the hospital's administration but did not receive a response.

Plainfield residents Pedro and Carmen Biaggi admitted their 11-month-old son, Joshua, who was born 25 weeks premature, on Thursday. They said the nurses on staff seemed fearful to be around their son, who has made numerous hospital visits since he was born. Their reaction put the Biaggis on edge, they said.

"I was watching as one nurse went to draw blood from my son and was unable to find a vein," Pedro Biaggi said. "His heart rate immediately went up, and I felt so bad for him. The other nurses know that he had trouble giving blood and know how to treat him. This nurse though, became flustered, and I was afraid for what may happen."

Biaggi said he spent the night at the hospital to keep track of his son. He said he missed the personal care that the nurses who are now on strike gave to his son and asked for the hospital to give in to their demands.

"I want my nurses," Biaggi said. "I do not care what it takes."

Dr. Daniel Notterman, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Medical School and the physician-in-chief at the Children's Hospital, said there is a psychological closeness between staff and parents whose children have extended hospital stays.

Without exact knowledge of the previous complaints, Notterman said that, in general, parents grow a level of comfort with their children's nurses and that any time there is a work stoppage, parents will have anxiety over the care their child receives.

"I've had both of my children in the hospital before, and I know that there was a reassurance that I knew who was taking care of my child," Notterman said. "As part of our preparation for the strike, we discussed the extreme parental anxiety that will come with the loss of bonding. Our goal is to try to be as responsive as we can to the parents until those new bonds develop. I feel once the strike is over, the same thing will happen when the nurses come back on board."

Notterman said the replacement nurses in both the neo-natal and pediatric intensive care units have kept the units at the same level of care as the on-strike nurses.

"I have not seen any growing pains or signs of discomfort in the replacement nurses," Notterman said. "I've actually been extremely impressed with how they have kept up to speed."

Tom Slater, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said inspectors monitoring the hospital did not receive any complaints from patients as of Friday morning.

"We found the staffing at the hospital to be adequate and adhering to state laws for staffing," he said.

[Greeniz984]

Im a new nurse, new grad and just completed the 2 week classroom orientation at RWJ...however, i have not started work yet due to the strike. Was just wondering if new nurses would be considered scabs, or what a union nurse's views on the matter would be. Starting my career in nursing is scary enough...and now im really stressed out as to whether or not i should be put on the schedule... Advice anyone???

[mekrn]

Im a new nurse, new grad and just completed the 2 week classroom orientation at RWJ...however, i have not started work yet due to the strike. Was just wondering if new nurses would be considered scabs, or what a union nurse's views on the matter would be. Starting my career in nursing is scary enough...and now im really stressed out as to whether or not i should be put on the schedule... Advice anyone???

Absolutely new nurses would be considered a scab! Additionally, if I was a new grad and wanted to protect my shiny new license, I would not want to be precepted by someone who is been in the facility for 3 wks, or a manager who has not touched a patient in 10 years.