UMass Memorial Nurses Outraged Over Lack of Response by CEO
Saturday, August 02, 2014
The nurses attempted to deliver a letter intended for CEO Dickson, but were instead met by Joseph Fournier, Vice President, Senior Human Resources Officer & Associate General Counsel. Although the letter was delivered to Dickson, David Schildmeier - Director of Public Communications with the Massachusetts Nurses Association – said that the nurses were never given the opportunity to speak with Dickson. The hospital did acknowledge the letter, but no immediate action was taken.
“UMass Memorial Health Care recognizes and values the contributions of our nurses and all of our caregivers in providing the outstanding care that we are recognized for both locally and nationally,” read a prepared statement from UMass Memorial. “We are committed to maintaining appropriate staffing levels to provide the high level of care that our patients need, expect and deserve every day.”
Nurses are upset with the UMass Memorial system because of the variety of staff cuts that have affected all hospitals within the system. Because of these staff cuts – some of which have eliminated entire units – nurses have had to take charge of more patients and procedures. Because of this, many nurses are saying that the current healthcare system at UMass Memorial hospitals is the worst they have ever seen.
Appealing to the Physician, Not the CEO
In sending the letter to CEO Eric Dickson, the nurses involved were hoping to appeal to the physician inside Dickson, not the CEO.
Having been an emergency room physician in the UMass Memorial system previously in his career, the nurses were hoping that the conference and letter would help to appeal to the doctor within Dickson, helping him to realize that staffing cuts are hurting patient care at the cost of additional hospital profits.
Raising Public Awareness
In the coming weeks, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is set to do anything in their power to help enact some of the changes that the nurses throughout the UMass Memorial system have desperately been calling for.
While most of the nurses aren’t able to strike due to their contract situations, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is set to appeal to the public with a variety of outreach methods including local advertisements and a variety of signs. After all, the public will be just as effected by the lack of changes as the nurses who have been decrying change.
“We are really hoping to reach out to the public and alert them as to what is going on,” said Schildmeier. “Nurses are the canary in the coal mine so to speak; we really want to use every avenue possible to make sure that their concerns are heard.”
Related Slideshow: Central MA Non-Profit Hospital CEO Pay, From Least To Most
Here are the total annual compensation amounts for the CEOs of the four non-profit hospital groups in Central Massachusetts. The source is each hospital group’s latest available 990 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, which is filed with the IRS and available at Guidestar.org. The CEOs are shown here, from lowest to highest total compensation.
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