HRH, nurses reach agreement

    HOULTON — Registered nurses at Houlton Regional Medical Center were scheduled to vote Monday on a tentative agreement with the hospital for a new collective bargaining contract that addresses the nurses’ key priority for strengthened patient safety protections as well as substantial gains in compensation and other issues that directly impact the recruitment and retention of RNs.  Coming on the heels of a major contract settlement at Eastern Maine Medical Center, this contract will benefit all Maine patients by raising the bar for patient safety standards throughout the state.
    The Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee represents some 70 registered nurses at the hospital.  The RNs are expected to approve the contract overwhelmingly.
    A key demand of the nurses was the creation of a professional practice committee (PPC), a staff-led committee that allows direct-care nurses a voice in creating and implementing patient care procedures.      “Nurses are patients advocates,” said Judy Eastham, RN, Chief Steward of MSNA Unit 296, “and PPCs are a vital institution to make sure that staffing and patient safety issues are resolved in the interest of our patients, not the hospital management. It gives us real authority to provide effective care for our patients, and the more PPCs we see created in Maine, the better off all patients will be.”
    Other key provisions of the Houlton settlement included:
    • Assurances that introduction of new technology will not displace RNs or replace RN professional judgment
    • Pay raises of 20 per cent over three years
    • Protection of the union rights of all members, including charge nurses, despite recent rulings from the Bush administration
    • Improvements in holiday benefits, night shift compensation, and sick leave.