Hundreds of passing motorists honked their horns in support of picketing nurses and technical staff as off-duty hospital staffers staged a protest 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday outside Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe. They plan to be back again today and Wednesday, and perhaps longer.

Picketers shouted, “What do we want? Safe staffing!”

Staffing is the number one issue for us,” said Fonda Osborn, president of the New Mexico District 1199 of the National Union of Nurses and Hospital Employees. The district represents nurses in Los Alamos, Taos, Espanola and Las Vegas, as well as the nurses and tech staff at St. Vincent.

“There has been very little controversy at other hospitals, but St. Vincent is a much busier hospital with a very high turnover of patients,” Osborn said. “This makes a higher level of staffing critical.”

The union represents more than 500 employees who have been working without a contract since July 31. After two months of negotiations, the hospital and the union were unable to agree on staffing standards. Osborn said the hospital has not responded to calls by the union to return to the negotiating table.

Although a strike is not currently in the union’s plans, Osborn did not rule it out if the impasse continues. “We’re not going to stop,” she said.

Union representatives said the hospital is preparing to bring in 350 “traveling nurses” at salaries of $6,300 per week each, if a strike occurs.

Monday morning, protesters arrived to find the sidewalk in front of the hospital blocked off for construction work. A call to Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales unearthed the fact that the landscaping company performing the work did not have a permit to be there. Union leaders suspect the hospital had intentionally planned for the work to interfere with the demonstration, which was announced 10 days in advance. Protesters at the scene said the hospital claimed it was just a coincidence.

The hospital says it will “strive” to have staffing at 40 percent, Osborn said, which means that staffing is higher than 39 percent of hospitals but lower than 60 percent of hospitals around the country, prorated by size and patient numbers.

The union wants a firm commitment to staffing levels at 40 percent or higher, she said.

“They’ve said this, but they haven’t done it. There’s no language of enforcement,” Osborn said. “The hospital says our staffing is no worse than anywhere else in the state, but it’s bad all over New Mexico. The union membership turned down a 5 percent raise offered by the hospital in order to push for increased staffing. We want to take good care of our patients … that’s why we’re out here.”

Hospital spokesperson Mandi Kane addressed the union issue today with the Los Alamos Daily Post.

“The hospital is still committed to bargaining in good faith and we’re looking forward to reaching an agreement,” Kane said, adding that a communication addressing where negotiations actually stand will be forthcoming later today.

Delma DeLora said she is disheartened to be still fighting for adequate staffing levels 40 years after she helped to organize the union at St. Vincent, where she has worked as a nurse and patient advocate for 52 years.

“This was our big issue back then. We’re still fighting the same battle,” DeLora said. “The community needs to stand up for their rights as patients. Adequate staffing means better patient outcomes. The people of northern New Mexico deserve this.”

Editor’s note: Carol A. Clark contributed to this story.

CEO’s Memo to Hospital Employees:

Hello everyone,

As promised, this email is intended to keep you apprised of union negotiations to date.

CSVRMC management  remains eager to make progress in negotiations so, in working through the federal mediator, the Hospital reached out to Union leadership this week to arrange a small, but confidential, conversation to discuss impasse on a key issue – staffing.

Management believes if the parties can agree on staffing, then they can discuss remaining barriers, next steps, and the possibilities for more negotiation.

The meeting would have included four key hospital leaders, including me, a non- member of the negotiations team, and four Union leaders. The participants were limited in number to facilitate a productive discussion that could potentially result in the negotiating teams coming back to the table.

The Hospital learned last night that the Union declined this invitation, and instead chose to focus on picketing.

The union’s refusal to meet is surprising as several union flyers have chastised leadership for what they perceived as unwillingness to meet with them. Once the invitation was extended, they chose to decline. Their real intentions are unclear.

Staffing levels and “oversight” of staffing levels remain the big sticking points. We have held our position on both. Four key facts are relevant to the staffing discussion:

1. Of the five New Mexico hospitals that 1199NM represents, ours is the only hospital to have offered a “staffing floor”.

2. By having offered a staffing floor, we were essentially committing a level of labor costs at a time when our reimbursements are decreasing and sole community provider funding is diminishing. We have entered a time in healthcare when change is occurring rapidly and preserving jobs in the longer term is paramount. Committing to a staffing floor will make it a bit more challenging.

3. We already have higher staffing levels than most large hospitals in New Mexico. According to the NM Hospital Association our RN staffing, in medical/surgical units, showed an hours-per-patient day range of 4.45 to 6.39. Our RN hours-per-patient day was 5.83.

4. During the 3 years of the current union contract, using appropriate target staffing hours, we improved patient care with more focus on accountability throughout the hospital. The measures that matter for Medicare reimbursement are the best indicators on progress. Therefore the higher staffing levels of three years ago did not result in improved patient outcomes.

It’s unfortunate that the union has messaged to the press and in the community that we provide poor quality of care. The long term impact on community perception could be significant even after negotiations are concluded. The language and tone is a disservice to the hard work and dedication of all 1,900 employees who provide care to our community. As we shared in employee town halls, our hospital staffing levels have resulted in improvements in quality care outcomes that did not exist even 5 years ago.

We remain dedicated to bargaining in good faith to reach a fair and responsible agreement that will benefit our patients and the community we serve. In the meantime, the hospital continues to operate smoothly with no disruptions to the delivery of quality care.

We highly value our employees, those represented by 1199NM and those not in a bargaining unit. Each is part of our team and vital to the quality of care that we provide. We want to thank all of our employees for their continued exemplary dedication during this negotiations period.

Bruce.

 Federal labor law prohibits CSVRMC from circumventing the union and negotiating directly with employees represented by the union.  The law protects CSVRMC’s right to inform employees and educate them about management proposals and operations.  That is why we are committed to communication with you and committed to addressing your questions and comments.