Message from MNA Director of Public Communications David Schildmeier:

Kudos to Secretary of State William F. Galvin for his efforts to call the
Board of Registration in Nursing to task for their process of approving
replacement nurses from strike breaking agencies. These nurses are
collecting a $4,000 per week check for breaking the strike of nurses making a
stand to protect patients and improve care. The reports by DPH yesterday are
not isolated. We have been receiving horrific reports of nurses sleeping on
the job, and overdosing patients, fighting with themselves and physicians,
nurses who lack the competencies to practice in the areas for which they are
assigned.

Press Release from Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin:

May 2, 2000

Galvin Calls for Probe of Worcester Nursing Hiring

Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin today blasted the
"reckless" speed with which the state has approved credentials
strike-breaking replacement nurses at the Worcester Medical Center, and he
called for an investigation of the role played by the Board of Registration
in Nursing.

In the wake of the firing for misconduct of three strike-breaking temporary
nurses at the Worcester hospital, Galvin asked Inspector General Robert A.
Cerasoli to "investigate the apparently accelerated process by which out of
state domiciled registered nurses have been granted reciprocity to practice
in Massachusetts so as to act as strike-breaker replacement nurses as the
former St. Vincent Hospital now Worcester Medical Center owned by the
for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp."

He also asked the Legislature's Joint Committee on Government Regulations,
which deals with bills concerning state boards of registration, to
investigate, as well.

"I believe that the facts will show that the Board of Registration of Nursing
has deliberately accelerated the review process so as to approve these out of
state nurses in as little as seventy-two hours while ordinarily nurses coming
from another state seeking reciprocity in Massachusetts would normally be
subject to a lengthy review process so as to properly evaluate their
qualifications and work history," Galvin wrote to Sen. Michael W. Morrissey
and Rep. Daniel E. Bosley.

The strike of nurses at Worcester Medical center is in its fifth week. The
Tenet Healthcare Corp. has staffed it with replacement nurses since it
opened. Last week, the company fired two of the nurses who left a surgical
patient unattended in a post-operative recovery room. A third, who delivered
a newborn to the wrong mother for nursing, was also fired.

The announcement of those firings, Galvin said, "makes this inquiry as to the
licensing procedures an urgent necessity."

"Unfortunately," he added, "it appears that in their reckless effect to
assist tenet Healthcare Corp. import strike-breaking nurses, the Board of
Registration of Nursing has put at risk the health of our citizens."

David Schildmeier
Director of Public Communications
Massachusetts Nurses Association
800-882-2056 x717
508-426-1655 (pager)
dschildmeier@mnarn.org <mailto:dschildmeier@mnarn.org>

-------------------------------------------

Some Background Information on Nursing Spectrum from Beth M.:

Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2000 12:07:47 AM
From: BethERNC@aol.com
Subj: [UnionTalk] Nursing Spectrum - Followup
To: UnionTalk@egroups.com

Hello Uniontalkers - In late April we were discussing the advertisements by
Nursing Spectrum for U.S. Nursing Corp. who provides scab nurses where there
are labor disputes. We are continuing to search for the answers and being
that Nursing Spectrum is a division of Gannett Company, Inc. (owner of USA
Today and numerous other newspapers across the nation and radio stations, and
cable, the following is information about Gannett Company as concerns labor
issues from a website BJ found called Calvert Social Investment Fund. This is
a Shareholders Activist organization:

"When Do We Sell Our Shares?

In the rare instances when our social and environmental concerns are not
adequately addressed, we may elect to divest our holdings. Typically, this
drastic action is taken only when a controversy emerges at a company in which
we invest. We divest our holdings for non-financial reasons only after all
efforts to maintain a dialogue with management have failed, or if we have
exhausted all of our options and the company fails to meet our social
investment guidelines. (see below for Gannett)

"In 1993 CSIF decided to sell its shares in Gannett Company, following more
than a year of research and dialogue with their management about its poor
record on labor issues. Although Gannett had a strong record in hiring and
promoting minorities and women, we were extremely concerned about Gannett's
deteriorating practices with labor unions. In 1993, we concluded that our
concerns were not being addressed given that the company's consistent pattern
of aggressive anti-union practices continued to worsen. Although the
newspaper industry has a history of contentious labor relations, Gannett's
record, in our opinion, was particularly egregious. Our research led us to
the opinion that management was not honoring some union locals that had been
recognized by the National Labor Relations Board, and in several cases did
not appear to bargain in good faith with other unions. "

--------------------------------------------

Message from Hawaiian Nurse:

This note is to encourage the striking nurses of Worcester, Massachusetts to
hang in there! It is obvious to anyone with a modicum of intelligence that
the nurses are focused on patient safety and welfare, while the Tenet
"Goliath" group are simply bottom dwellers who care more about profits than
patients. I've been in nursing long enough to lament the day when hospitals
went public. Perhaps investors in Tenet stock should take a hard look at the
hidden costs of their dividends. These dividends are made at the expense of
the patients, whose welfare is in the hands of profiteers. The St. Vincent
nurses have raised awareness of this outrage to an appropriate level.
Faith Rossman, RN, MN
Hawaii

--------------------------------------------

Galvin asks if state rushed licensing
Galvin asks if licensing was rushed

Wednesday, May 3, 2000

By Lisa Eckelbecker, Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER-- Secretary of State William F. Galvin yesterday called for an
investigation into whether state licensing officials recklessly accelerated
their review of replacement nurses hired to work at Worcester Medical Center.
The request to Inspector General Robert Cerasoli and the Legislature's
joint committee on government regulations came one day after the state
Department of Public Health released reports revealing that three replacement
nurses had been fired for lapses in care to patients.
The state Board of Registration of Nursing may have accelerated the
process to review the licenses of nurses hired by Tenet Healthcare Corp.,
owner of Worcester Medical Center, to replace striking nurses, Mr. Galvin
wrote in his letter to the inspector general.
"Unfortunately, it appears that in their reckless effort to assist Tenet
Healthcare Corp. import strike-breaking nurses, the Board of Registration of
Nursing has put at risk the health of our citizens," Mr. Galvin wrote.
The Board of Registration of Nursing oversees the licensing of nurses in
Massachusetts. In late March, after nurses employed by Tenet announced plans
to strike, Tenet brought in about 125 replacement nurses hired through U.S.
Nursing Corp. of Denver. Those nurses who came from outside Massachusetts
were required to apply for in-state licenses.
Robert E. Maher Jr., chief executive of Worcester Medical Center, called
the cooperation of the board "tremendous," but said he did not think the
board handled applications for the replacement nurses any differently than
other applications.
"There were no special deals cut," Mr. Maher said. "I think they helped
us like they would help any hospital in a similar position."
On Monday, the state released reports showing that two replacement
nurses had been fired after leaving a surgical patient unattended in a
post-operative recovery room while a third replacement nurse was fired after
delivering the wrong baby to a mother for nursing.
Those incidents prompted Mr. Galvin's request for an investigation, said
Brian S. McNiff, a spokesman for the secretary of state. Mr. Galvin was
concerned that some of the replacement nurses were approved to work in
Massachusetts after reviews that lasted as little as two or three days, less
time than normally taken to review nurses' qualifications and work histories,
Mr. McNiff said.
In March, the state nursing board's executive director, Theresa M.
Bonanno, told the Telegram & Gazette that it would usually take no more than
a few days to grant an in-state license to a nurse whose license from another
state was in good standing.
But to the nurses walking the picket line, that is just too fast, said
David J. Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the
union representing the striking nurses.
"If these nurses can enter the state and practice in three days, or
whatever the time frame is, that's not appropriate," said Mr. Schildmeier.
Worcester Medical Center nurses went on strike March 31 over
management's demand that nurses agree to mandatory overtime. The striking
nurses say mandatory overtime could jeopardize patient care.
Both sides are slated to return to the bargaining table tomorrow at the
request of a federal mediator.

© 2000 Worcester Telegram & Gazette

--------------------------------------------

Galvin calls nurse hires `reckless'

Wednesday, May 3, 2000

by Jennifer Heldt Powell and Doug Hanchett, Boston Herald

Secretary of State William Galvin blasted the Cellucci administration
yesterday for accelerating the licensing of out-of-state nurses to replace
striking nurses at a Worcester hospital.

Galvin called for a probe of the decision to issue reciprocal licenses within
72 hours instead of the typical 30 days, after three of the replacement
nurses were fired for errors.

``It appears that in their reckless effort to assist Tenet Healthcare Corp.
import strike-breaking nurses, the Board of Registration of Nursing has put
at risk the health of our citizens,'' Galvin said.

Nurses at the Tenet-owned Worcester Medical Center - formerly St. Vincent
Hospital - who went on strike last month have been replaced with nurses from
U.S. Nursing Corp. in Denver.

The state expedited the licensing process ``to assure the facility had
adequate staff to meet patient needs,'' said Jennifer Davis Carey, consumer
affairs director. ``These nurses are all licensed in other states and meet
the qualifications of licensure.''

Galvin asked Inspector General Robert Cerasoli to investigate the accelerated
licensing. He also asked the Legislature's Joint Committee on Government
Regulations to look into the matter.

On Monday, the state Department of Public Health released reports showing
that three replacement nurses had been fired for providing shoddy care -
including one who gave a newborn to the wrong mother at feeding time. The
mother had begun breastfeeding the child before the mistake was detected.

Paula Green, a spokewoman for Tenet, said the hospital was ``heartsick'' over
the mistake.

The other two nurses were fired after leaving a surgical patient unsupervised
in the recovery room, with each nurse believing the other was going to stay
behind with the patient.

The decision to fire the nurses was made by Tenet and not influenced by
hospital regulators, said Paul Jacobsen, a DPH deputy commissioner.

``I think they are holding the nurses to a high standard and they want to
ensure the quality of care is continued regardless of where the nurses come
from,'' he said.

Striking nurses said the firings indicate a decline in the quality of care
since the job action began.

``We are very sad and very angry that this is the kind of care that our
patients are receiving now,'' said Sandy Ellis, a nurse on the negotiating
team.

``It's horrible that the hospital administration continues to staff the
hospital with replacement nurses, paying their exorbitant fees rather than
coming to the table and negotiating fairly with us and getting us back to
work where we belong.''

A federal mediator has asked both sides to return to the bargaining table
tomorrow.

Copyright by the Boston Herald

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