Nurses Rally today, Aug. 19, to push for 'safe staffing levels' at MCMC
Here is a screenshot of the notice to rally tonight, Aug. 19. Nurses at MCMC are pushing for safe staffing levels as well as wage concerns.
UPDATED Aug. 20th 2021 1:00 PM: See photos and live video coverage from the nurse’s rally here.
By Tom Peterson
Local nurses will be rallying this evening, Aug. 19th, at The Dalles Post Office as they push for safe staffing, fair wages and respect from Mid-Columbia Medical Center administration.
“Unfortunately, Mid-Columbia Medical Center has left nurses working without a contract during a pandemic after failing to agree to a fair contract extension,” according to a rally flyer that CCCNews received.
Click here to read the full rally flyer.
The rally will be held at 4:30 p.m. and promotional materials ask friends, neighbors and colleagues to “help secure key contract provisions to improve local patient care and safety.”
The rally comes after several months of contract negotiations via the Oregon Nurses Association.
Nurses at MCMC were surveyed last spring about working conditions. This is what the survey found, according to an April 26, 2021, Oregon Nurses Association Bargaining Update newsletter.
“A majority of the ONA/MCMC nurses completed the survey and identified the following priorities: wage increases, improved staffing, improved health benefits, respectful work setting, adding more years of service to our hourly pay rates, accrual rates for paid time off (PTO) as well as other issues,” it states. “Many nurses shared that low retention of staff is an issue right now at MCMC. Several departments have high turnover (nurses, lab, physicians, etc.) which results in a loss of our most experienced staff at MCMC. Many nurses identified that this contributes to staffing issues.”
CCCNews contacted MCMC Spokesperson Stephanie Bowen about contract negotiations several weeks ago.
We asked:
“What is the current status of the negotiations with the Oregon Nurses Association - has the bargaining agreement been completed? Are they still working out of contract?
This was Bowen’s Response:
“No, The ONA agreement is an agreement structured on a three-year term. OHA and MCMC are in the third year of the current agreement.”
Staff are leaving MCMC.
Several doctors and nurses have spoken with CCCNews stating that the administration is encouraging underreporting safety issues and had grave concerns about the direction administrators are taking in regard to retaining staff. However, they would not go on the record for fear of retribution for going public with their concerns.
The loss of staff in recent months is real.
Here is a list of recent employee exits, but it is short of being complete.
Dr. Basil Beitinjaneh, Cardiology
Dr. Jaclin Barbera, Pediatrician
Dr. Xinyu Steve Fu
Dr. Judy Richardson, Primary Care
Dr. Matthew Barbera, cardiology
Dermatologist, Dr. Melinda Riter
Nurse Practitioner Jonathan Soffer
Dr. Kevin S. Wei
