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City Council will hold hearings on the role of nursing assistants
Hahnemann employees urged legislators to intervene in a plan that would lead to the layoff of 124 unionized nursing assistants, calling the reorganization "union-busting."
City Council will hold hearings on the role of nursing assistants
As Hahnemann University Hospital moves toward eliminating certified nursing assistants from its payroll, a decision that was reportedly based on the success of a pilot study at the hospital, City Council's Committee on Public Health and Human Services will hold hearings to determine what nursing assistants' roles in Philly health care ought to be. A number of Hahnemann employees who expect to lose their jobs as of July spoke out at a council hearing today, calling the hospital's initiative barely veiled union-busting. Licensed practical nurses have already been eliminated from Hahnemann, while housekeeping, dietary services and patient escort services have all been outsourced, according to the union, District 1199C of the National Union of Hospital and Helath Care Employees.
Hahnemann announced the program in February as a major advancement in care. The Inquirer reported:
"The percentage of nurses who said they could complete their work during their shift rose from 37 before the pilot to 74 after, reducing overtime payments. Fewer patients got bedsores or had trouble with blood thinners. The number of emergencies at the bedside was nearly halved — a sign … that nurses were identifying problems before they got out of hand. Fewer patients fell. Patient satisfaction rose, especially with pain control."
But nursing assistants speaking today painted a different picture:"If the nursing assistants are cut out of Hahnemann hospital, patient care will decline or cease to exist," said Hahnemann worker Ericka Williams. "There are patients that are not able to feed themselves, toilet themselves or bathe themselves; we are there. … Do you think the RN has the ability to do their job in addition to another eight-hour job, [that of the nursing assistant?]" Elaine Murchison claimed that some doctors are already beginning to steer their patients away from Hahnemann, and Helena Lozada said matters will only get worse: "There's a lot of critical care there that is not being taken care of."
Henry Nicholas, president of 1199C, said 25,000 people will be at the Convention Center June 13 to speak out. "We've done much preparation for a massive mobilization," he warned.
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