TD Nurses find locked door in negotiations with MCMC
By Tom Peterson
Nurses at Mid-Columbia Medical Center will rally again for proper staffing, scheduling and better wages on Thursday, Oct. 7 starting at 5 p.m.
The rally will be held on both sides of the sidewalks on 6th street in front of Fred Meyer in The Dalles.
The rally comes after several months of Oregon Nurses Association contract negotiations with MCMC. They are slated to have a mediated negotiation with its administration on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
Past rally flyers said the administration had failed to approve a contract extension. As a result, nurses said that they had been working without a contract since June 30th, 2021.
Issues with management have been apparent since April after a staff survey at MCMC by the Oregon Nurses Association.
“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,” the ONA bargaining newsletter states.
Read the full newsletter flyer here.
The Oregon Nurses Association recently stated that local nurses attempted to present MCMC Executive Director Dennis Knox with a petition in support of nurses stating:
“But the administration of Mid-Columbia Medical Center is failing us, our patients and our entire community. Since negotiations began in April, we have worked hard to help the administration understand the need for well-rested nurses who can create their own work-life balance. Research has repeatedly shown that nurses who are free to take their mandatory breaks and have control of their schedules provide better care, make fewer mistakes, and are less likely to burn out or look for work elsewhere.”
To read the whole petition, click here.
“On Wednesday, September 29, a large group of nurses walked to CEO Dennis Knox’s office to present this letter, which was also sent to all members of the Board of Trustees,” the ONA said in a press release. “At some point between nurses gathering in the Atrium Courtyard and walking to his office, the door was locked and no one answered. But the delegation slid the letter under the door. Our message was clearly sent.”
The petition was signed by 201 people from communities throughout the Gorge and Oregon.
Petitioners were also allowed to make comments. Here are a select few:
“I have been a patient of Celilo Center, and MCMC Hospital. The nurses always gave me excellent care. I have been very aware of the mismanagement in the past year especially. Always having a different Oncologist, they come and go so frequently, I stopped trying to keep up with the names. As a patient, it’s been very difficult. Cancer is hard enough, but when you can’t depend on the administration to give you stability with who will be your Dr., it’s scary and frustrating. I truly hope the nurses will be supported by management. They work so hard, and I’ve watched them deal with very heavy loads, that I did not think was fair to them.”
-Debbie Harth, The Dalles
“The nurses and dr.s who provide us with the best possible healthcare cant do it. They said they're overworked and understaffed. They can't do their job to the best of their ability. Let's get them the pay and hours they need and want… let's try to get more nurses to fill these positions that are in great need ..they need the resources and pay they need to keep us healthy and safe as well.”
-Carol Reid, The Dalles
“These issues need to be addressed within many, if not all, departments within MCMC. I no longer work for MCMC, but I used to work as an Exercise Specialist in the Medical Exercise Program. We were severely understaffed, underappreciated, and often it created an unsafe environment for patients, not to mention the level of patient care was not to the standard it should have been for a PlaneTree Hospital. I left because I was burnt out due to understaffing.”
- Mallory Branson, The Dalles
