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- At a July 13 community gathering and rally, Nurses United for Improved Patient Care in Kansas City, Mo., issued a report, based on IRS forms filed by Health Midwest (HMW), showing that the hospitals belonging to the nonprofit organization allocate 27 percent to 45 percent of their budgets to management-related expenses; that's four times what other hospital systems in the region spend on management and considerably less than what's spent on direct patient care. While HMW claims that the IRS data are subject to interpretation, an editorial in the "Kansas City Business Journal" says that that obfuscation is precisely the problem. The editorial suggests that HMW owes it to the public to provide clear information. "Taxpayers have paid for this information," says the "Journal." Says FNHP leader Candice Owley: The "Journal" clearly recognizes the link between the nurses' concern for patient care and hospital accountability to the public.
- Some 260 service and maintenance employees at Manchester Memorial Hospital in Manchester, Conn., are now members of the Connecticut Federation of Educational and Professional Employees through a voluntary recognition process. Based on a majority of the service and maintenance workers signing cards expressing their desire to join the CFEPE, hospital management decided to forego the formal election process and "interact in a positive way to embrace the union and work toward mutual goals in a cooperative environment," says the CFEPE. The voluntary recognition was affirmed by an independent, outside third party on June 15. The CFEPE currently represents more than 24,000 educational and professional employees in the state, including registered nurses at Manchester Hospital and 4,000 other health care professionals in seven hospitals.
- The Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, whose members work throughout the Kaiser Permanente health care system, won voluntary recognition for 55 home health nurses. In June, 66 percent of the nurses signed cards indicating their desire to join the OFNHP, and Kaiser management, in keeping with the labor-management agreement to work and bargain cooperatively, recognized the unit without a formal election process. The OFNHP now represents more than 1,400 members.
- Health Professionals and Allied Employees Local 5105 at Virtua-Memorial Hospital of Burlington County in New Jersey found a unique way to gather strength and forces while gearing up for contract negotiations--they wrote and published a cookbook. "Strike Up A Meal" is a comprehensive and easy-to-follow cookbook with recipes like "mandated macaroni and cheese" and "bargaining beef brisket." While supplies last, copies are $8 plus $2 for shipping and handling. Mail your order to Jean M. Kessler, 20 Riverside Avenue, Roebling, NJ 08554.
