Settlement for Houlton RNs Provides Significant Patient Protections, RN Retention Gains

Registered Nurses at Houlton Regional Medical Center voted Monday to overwhelmingly approve a tentative agreement with the hospital for a new collective bargaining contract that addresses the nurses’ key priority for strengthened patient safety protections as well as substantial gains in compensation and other issues that directly impact the recruitment and retention of RNs.  Coming on the heels of a major contract settlement at Eastern Maine Medical Center, this contract will benefit all Maine patients by raising the bar for patient safety standards throughout the state.  The contract covers some 70 registered nurses at the hospital.

A key demand of the nurses was the creation of a professional practice committee (PPC), a staff-led committee that allows direct-care nurses a voice in creating and implementing patient care procedures.  “Nurses are patient advocates,” said Judy Eastham, RN, Chief Steward of MSNA Unit #296, “and PPCs are a vital institution to make sure that staffing and patient safety issues are resolved in the interest of our patients, not the hospital management.  It gives us real authority to provide effective care for our patients, and the more PPCs we see created in Maine, the better off all patients will be.”

“Our new contract will improve our patient, enrich the work environment for nurses, and ensure the professionalism in patient safety procedures through the establishment of a new Professional practice committee,” said Jennifer McManemon, an RN at Houlton and a member of the nurse bargaining committee.  

Other key provisions of the Houlton settlement included:

• Assurances that introduction of new technology will not displace RNs or replace RN professional judgment
• Pay raises of 20 per cent over three years
• Protection of the union rights of all members, including charge nurses, despite recent rulings from the Bush administration
• Improvements in holiday benefits, night shift compensation, and sick leave

About MSNA/NNOC
MSNA is the historical association for RNs in Maine.  In 2006, MSNA joined the California Nurses Association and its national arm, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, the nation’s fastest-growing union of direct-care nurses, representing over 75,000 members in all 50 states.  Learn more at www.NNOC.net.