St. Agnes Investigated for Unfair Tactics

Home Health Columnist / Guide · May 31, 2009

another viewpoint:

catholic hospital's nurses vote against joining pro-abortion union

...the california nurses association had a large staff of paid, professional organizers working to win the vote. the association represents more than 60,000 nurses and has annual revenues of $60 million. the association could have collected nearly $1 million in annual dues had st. agnes nurses voted to join.
last year a group of st. agnes nurses began a self-funded effort to oppose association organizers, citing the organization's pro-abortion agenda. on may 15 nurses rallied against joining the association, saying the organization's values conflicted with those of a catholic hospital. they cited the association's support even for partial-birth abortion.
st. agnes hospital chaplain father henry williams also spoke out against abortion and urged nurses to consider the organization's abortion position in deciding their vote.
"some of the views of cna just didn't gel with the views and philosophy st. agnes has and that was a huge concern for many of the voters," inge schlegel, one of the nurses opposing the california nurses association, told kmph-26 television news after the election.
representatives from the california nurses association said they would challenge the results of the latest election, which had a 94 percent turnout. the medical center's nurses had previously rejected association representation in 1998 by a margin of only six votes.

california catholic daily - third time a charm?

...opponents of cna union representation at the catholic hospital say, however, the "harassment, coercion and threats" come from the cna. union organizers, say the opponents, are able to obtain full, private contact information, including home addresses and telephone numbers of all the nurses at a targeted facility once the union has obtained signed cards from 30 percent of the rns. professional cna organizers, note those opposed to the union, can then call and visit individual nurses and pressure them to vote in favor of cna representation. in addition, say foes of the union, the cna tries to block hospital management from providing assistance to nurses who object to the union, demanding that the hospital remain "neutral," resulting in an unfair mismatch. ...

allnurses Guide · Jun 1, 2009

Thank you Karen. As I pro life nurse I am certain that the CNA sponsored safe staffing ratios have saved many lives in California hospitals. I have never experienced any "militant pro abortion" nurses among my colleagues or our direct care RN officers and board of directors.

Of the five penalties issued to hospitals in Fresno County for unsafe patient care three were to St. Agnes.

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/facilities/Pages/CountyFresno.aspx

I think the RNs can work for their hospital abiding by the law, inprove care, and save lives with the support of our all RN union.

The position of the California Nurses Association is that women have the legal right to choose whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy. The choice of abortion is a woman's right in our society and as such CNA strongly advocates education and counseling of women regarding pregnancy and birth control methods in an effort to reduce the need for abortion.

CNA believes that women who decide to have an abortion are entitled to competent and compassionate nursing care. This provision of nursing care is the major responsibility of the nursing profession in any area of health care.

However, nurses hold moral, ethical and/or religious beliefs that may compel them, in good conscience, to refuse involvement with abortions. CNA supports the nurse's right to exercise this refusal without being subject to ridicule, coercion, censure or termination.

It is recommended that those who choose not to be involved notify their employers in writing in advance of a situation's occurrence. Nurses have the right to expect their employers to describe policies and practices regarding abortion.

Once the employer has been notified of the nurse's decision not to participate in this care option, it is the employer's responsibility to make plans for staffing by personnel who are willing and competent to care for such patients.

In life-threatening situations, the patient's right to care would take precedence over the nurse's individual rights and beliefs until other appropriate personnel could be substituted. Under no circumstances would care not be rendered.