Potential nursing union strike in Magnet, Trauma level I hospital

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jun 16, 2003

Yes, they can loose Magnet certification.

Q. What happens when there is an unfair labor charge or grievance pending?

A. In the five years preceding application, the applicant nursing service must not have committed an unfair labor practice as determined in a fully and finally adjudicated proceeding before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If there is an unfair labor grievance pending, then the application process is halted until the pending grievance has been resolved or adjudicated. The interested applicant must wait five years following the finding of an unfair labor practice to apply for Magnet designation.

http://nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet/magnet.htm

Magnet Staff nurse survey:

http://nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet/survey.html

Q. How is a consumer concern handled?

A. All concerns regarding Magnet Organizations should be submitted to the Magnet Program Office by e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail, to the American Nurses Credentialing Center, 600 Maryland Ave., S.W., Suite 100 West, Washington, DC 20024-2571. Letters may be anonymous. Concerns should be factual, dates and locations (where the incident occurred) should be included as well as specific details surrounding the event. A letter of inquiry is sent to the organization regarding the concern. The response with detailed supporting documentation is submitted to the Commission on Magnet for review and final outcome. The Commission decisions can range from acceptance of the facilities response to removal of the Magnet Designation.

lee1 · Jun 16, 2003

Thanks, what about the Trauma Level I designation?

Also, does open heart surgery, transplants stop?

-jt · Jun 17, 2003

The hospital loses the designation.

They cant just go thru the motions of creating a positive working environment for nurses just to get the award & then go back to their old abusive ways. They have to actually live the designation -- or lose it. 2 facilities already have lost their magnet designation for not upholding the standard of the Magnet best practices for a positive RN workplace after they got it. And the nurses working there werent even on strike.

Hospitals have to work hard to keep the award - they are monitored & re-evaluated & their nurses are surveyed to see what its really like to work there. Lots of hospitals are applying now & the Magnet committee is collecting info from staff nurses working in facilities all over the country. Give a heads up on your hospital one way or the other at:

http://nursingworld.org/ancc/magnet/survey.html

-jt · Jun 17, 2003

No. In NY, they dont lose their state trauma designation for causing a nurses strike. If they couldnt get the trauma staff they needed during the strike, the state dept of health might put them on diversion from trauma temporarily.

Magnet designation is an award given to the hospital by NURSES for its committment TO nurses. If the hospital is causing its nurses to strike, they are not showing a committment to them or upholding the whole concept and spirit in which the award was given - so they lose it cause they dont deserve it.

Trauma designation is a completely different thing, comes from the state, and has state requirements to meet.

lee1 · Jun 18, 2003

Originally posted by -jt

No. In NY, they dont lose their state trauma designation for causing a nurses strike. If they couldnt get the trauma staff they needed during the strike, the state dept of health might put them on diversion from trauma temporarily.

Magnet designation is an award given to the hospital by NURSES for its committment TO nurses. If the hospital is causing its nurses to strike, they are not showing a committment to them or upholding the whole concept and spirit in which the award was given - so they lose it cause they dont deserve it.

Trauma designation is a completely different thing, comes from the state, and has state requirements to meet.

Do you have any idea about NJ state requirements????

Have you heard of any NJ hospitals having problems recently??

-jt · Jun 18, 2003

They dont lose their trauma designation because of a job action. Usually the state will just put them on trauma diversion until it satisfied that they have enough scabs or the strike ends. A strike has nothing to do with trauma designation. You can check with the state dept of health for trauma designation requirements.

lee1 · Jun 23, 2003

JT, do you know what a hospital must do IF there is a strike? Do they have to empty out beds, stop open heart surgery, stop heart transplant, etc. etc????

-jt · Jun 25, 2003

Theyre supposed to downsize the in-pt population - stop admitting pts, except thru ER, cancel all surgeries, except emergencies, discharge to home care, move pts to other hospitals. The law requires that they be given a 10 day notice to get this done. Usually, they dont want to do this cause its a logistical headache for them, so once they get the 10 day notice and if they realize the nurses are strongly united & will go thru with it, the hospital usually will come back to negotiations, start bargaining more fairly, & then the strike doesnt happen at all. The idea is not to have to strike so this is a good thing & the way you hope it turns out. But if they just dont give a damn they employ scabs no matter the cost and do none of the above. If the state finds that they have managed to obtain enough RN scabs to meet the pt needs, they can keep all business going as usual, let the strike happen, & leave their pts in the midst of it.

If the nurses are going to take a strike vote at your facility, get your BCLS cert in order & start signing up with local agencies now so youll have a place to work already lined up when your not scheduled to be on the strike line.

And make a list of all the agencies in your area & pass copies of it to RNs all around the hospital. Let manangement see youre preparing for it & theyll take you more seriously - and then the strike might not even have to happen.

lee1 · Jul 4, 2003

Will see what happens now with 3 different unions in NJ that have finished or are in the process of finishing their negotiations. 2 are trauma level I and 3 are smaller in south NJ. The votes will tell the story soon. 1 has already voted but not to strike just yet and are still negotiating. 1 has still to finish negotiations, 1 has finished and is now waiting to vote.