United Nurses & Allied Professionals - All UNAP News

Join us for "As the Hospital Turns" on May 12

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:44:28 -0500

Come support the UNAP Children's Hospital Fund at our annual Nurse's Week celebration and fundraiser on Wednesday, May 12th at the Twin River Event Center. This year's event will feature the Rhode Island premier of "As the Hospital Turns", an old radio broadcast that will feature our members in key roles. If you would like to be a part of this production contact Helen.

To find out more, to buy tickets or to be an actor in the play, click here.

Lifespan and Care NE drop merger plans

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:39:30 -0500

After spending more than 2 1/2 years and $8 million in pursuit of a merger, Lifespan and Care NE announced on February 26 that they are abandoning their plans to become a single, seven-hospital system. In response, the UNAP commented that the decision reflects the public's increasing discomfort with large private corporations running essential public services like hospitals.

In 2008, the UNAP conducted a survey of hundreds of health care workers throughout the State who expressed concerns about the impact that the giant merger could have on employee rights and benefits, patient services, unaffiliated community hospitals, and overall health care costs. Since then, the UNAP has consistently argued that before we let a single private company control 70% of our state’s hospital beds, we must make sure we have the public oversight necessary to ensure that their private business decisions are made in the public interest.

To read more about Lifespan's announcement and UNAP's response, click here and here.

As The Hospital Turns - A Search For Tomorrow's Nurse - May 12, 2010

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:37:40 -0500

Come and share in this very special Dinner-Theater event to benefit the Children's Hospital Fund and in celebration of Nurses Week! This years Spring Fundraiser will be held at the beautiful Event Center at Twin River in Lincoln Rhode Island!

Enjoy and support your *co-workers as they appear onstage - cast into the roles of hospital workers in an old time radio broadcast of: "As the Hospital Turns - A Search for Tomorrow's Nurse" -- A new play by Lisa Hayes and Suzanne Gordon.

We are especially pleased to present this performance directed by Lisa Hayes, accomplished actor, playwright and educator best known for the plays Bedside Manners and Nurse!

Earthquake in Haiti causes horrific devastation -- how to help

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:18:07 -0500

In the aftermath of the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that struck the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti the night of January 12, officials there are in the process of assessing the utter devastation, especially the area of Port Au Prince. A massive relief effort will require the efforts of many individuals and organizations. Here are a couple of ways that UNAP members can help:

Registered Nurse Response Network (RNRN) is a national network of direct-care RNs that coordinates sending volunteer RNs to disaster stricken areas wherever and whenever they are needed most. RNRN was organized in 2005 when Katrina and Rita — two of the most destructive hurricanes in history — dramatically exposed America's flawed disaster relief system. VOLUNTEER ONLINE HERE

UNAP local president leads Vermont Health Care is a Human Right Campaign

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:53:50 -0500

MORRISVILLE, VT – More than fifty Lamoille County residents braved frigid temperatures to participate in a People’s Forum on Healthcare with Vermont Speaker of the House Rep. Shap Smith (D-Morrisville), Rep. Floyd Nease (D-Johnson) and State Senator Susan Bartlett (D-Lamoille County). This forum was the ninth of its kind scheduled in recent weeks by the Healthcare Is A Human Right Campaign (HCHR), a statewide grassroots organizing effort coordinated by the Vermont Workers’ Center (VWC) which aims to change what is politically possible in health reform in Vermont. The event including testimony from local residents who have been negatively affected by the healthcare crisis and explored the how Vermont can establish healthcare as a basic human right and win single-payer healthcare in 2010.

“We believe that healthcare is not a commodity but a public good shared by all,” said Susan Lucas, RN, VWC leader and president of the nurses union at Copley Hospital. “No one should have to forgo needed care because of costs.”

Over 200 attend UNAP patient safety seminar

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:48:31 -0500

Over 200 UNAP members and other health care workers attended a Continuing Education seminar entitled, Humans and Harm in Health Care: How We Cause It, How We Reduce It, on Tuesday, January 12 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI.

The featured presenter was Laura Adams, a Registered Nurse who, as a new grad, gave a massive overdose of a dangerous drug to a 7-year old child, and who is now the President & CEO of the RI Quality Institute -- one of the most innovative patient safety initiatives in the United States.

The program offered 1.5 contact hours and was free for UNAP members. Watch for future continuing education programs from the UNAP.

UNAP elects officers and sets agenda at biennial convention

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:28:17 -0500

Approximately 120 members and leaders of the Rhode Island’s largest health care union, the United Nurses & Allied Professionals, gathered in Providence on October 27, 2009 for the union's sixth biennial convention. UNAP convention delegates elected union officers, voted on constitutional amendments, and adopted resolutions to guide the policies and direction of the union for the next two years.

UNAP delegates elected the following officers to serve for a two-year term:

President
Linda McDonald, Registered Nurse, RI Hospital

Executive Vice President
Lynn Blais, Registered Nurse, Fatima Hospital

Vice President
Liz Furtado, Registered Nurse, Memorial Hospital

Vice President
Tom Flood, Mental Health Worker, Brattleboro (VT) Retreat

Treasurer
Kevin Wilks, Registered Nurse, Zambarano Hospital (retired)

A happy and HEALTHY Labor Day weekend!

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:22:36 -0400

UNAP nurses checked the blood pressures of more than 200 festival-goers at the Rhode Island Labor & Ethnic Heritage Festival on Sunday, August 30 at the Slater Mill Historic Site in Pawtucket, RI. The festival pays tribute to the many ways in which working people, unions, and immigrants have contributed, and continue to contribute, to our State's vibrant cultural, political, and economic life.

Festival organizer and lead singer of Pendragon, Mary Lee Partington, read a stirring poetic tribute to unions from the Festival's main stage.

Slater Mill Tribute for Labor Day

Gathered by the river now
Are sons and daughters of the plow,
Sons and daughters of the loom
Long banished from the factory room.

We stand here on a summer day
And stop the fiddler set to play
A tune or some old melody
From Slater’s time and memory.

Health care workers prepare for H1N1 virus

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:56:16 -0400

The Institute of Medicine has released a report highlighting the special precautions that healthcare workers should take to avoid the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus (aka, "swine flu"). Click here to read the report.

Arbitrator: Safety concerns justified Westerly RNs objections to ICU admission

Tue, 12 May 2009 12:04:06 -0400

The UNAP has won a very significant arbitration award which reversed the disciplinary suspension of four ICU nurses at Westerly Hospital. After three days of hearings, arbitrator Mark Irvings found that the nurses had a "reasonable belief that accepting the patient into the ICU could pose an unacceptable risk to their health and safety, and possibly that of the other patients in the ICU."

The arbitrator noted that while employees must ordinarily "work now and grieve later", this situation was extraordinary because the ICU nurses had been told that:

the patient had been brought into the Emergency Room by police and paramedics
the patient claimed he was Hep-C and possibly HIV positive and didn't care
the patient was pulling out his IV and threatening others with his blood
the patient was being certified as a danger to himself and others
the patient required a constant police presence
while monitored by a police officer and orderly, it was still necessary to call for additional police

In a separate action, the Rhode Island Nurse Licensure Board also dismissed complaints that had been filed against the nurses. To read the arbitration decision, click here.

RI Hospital UNAP members overwhelmingly reject Lifespan givebacks

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:27:07 -0400

RI Hospital UNAP members voted overwhelmingly today by 876 to 14 to reject a Lifespan proposal to reduce wages and benefits. The proposed givebacks have already been imposed on non-union employees throughout the Lifespan system.

At the five membership meetings held throughout the day, UNAP members repeatedly voiced their disapproval of the Lifespan proposals. Nurses, respiratory therapists, diagnostic imaging techs and others expressed skepticism about the need for permanent cuts in wages and benefits, noting the fact that Lifespan hospitals are the wealthiest and most profitable in Rhode Island. Union members also expressed anger about CEO salary increases and recent bonuses paid to Lifespan executives.

Union President, Linda McDonald, RN noted during the meeting that “our members contribute to RI Hospital every day – working very hard to take care of very sick patients. In addition, we have done our part in the past by making some concessions during our contract negotiations.” But, she added, “a contract is a contract, and both sides must live with its terms.”

Say NO to Lifespan Givebacks!

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:23:59 -0400

On Wednesday, March 18, Lifespan announced wage & benefit “takeaways” for all non-union employees, and asked the UNAP to agree to similar givebacks, including eliminating a scheduled 4% increase on July 1. The RI Hospital UNAP Executive Board has unanimously recommended that members reject the proposal because Lifespan is financially healthy. Click here to read more.

UNAP launches The eFlame -- an electronic newsletter

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:45:21 -0400

The UNAP has published its premier edition of The eFlame, an electronic version of the UNAP newsletter. The eFlame is distributed to over 5,000 members and non-members, and contains articles and links to important developments in labor, health care, and each UNAP local.

To read The eFlame, click here. To subscribe to The eFlame, click here.

RI legislators propose Hospital Merger Accountability Act

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:07:29 -0500

Imagine if a hospital purchase or merger enabled a private hospital company to acquire ownership of a majority of all the hospital beds in Rhode Island. This company would have extraordinary influence on the cost, quality and access to health care services; the economy of Rhode Island; the health care labor market; and the overall health of Rhode Islanders.

To protect the public's interest in the event of such a merger, State Senator Mary Ellen Goodwin and State Representative Peter Wasylyk have introduced legislation entitled the "Hospital Merger Accountability Act", which would provide greater transparency, accountability and oversight of any merged hospital system that acquires ownership of more than 50% of all hospital beds in Rhode Island. Click here to read S-0780 (Goodwin) and H-5702 (Wasylyk).

Linda McDonald re-elected President of RI Hospital UNAP

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:36:44 -0500

On Friday, December 12, the RI Hospital UNAP re-elected President Linda McDonald, RN to serve for a new, three-year term. Linda defeated Respiratory Therapist Mike Martin by a total of 401 to 201. In an email following the vote, Linda thanked all RI Hospital UNAP members, as well as the election committee that oversaw the voting, and committed herself to working to improve conditions for all UNAP members. She urged all members to get involved to make the UNAP as strong as it can be.