FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 15, 2013, Noon
Contact: Jeff Hall, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
617-281-8384, jeff.hall@1199.org, Twitter: @1199mass
Jordan Hospital workers raise concerns and call for public hearing as Beth Israel Deaconess takeover looms
PLYMOUTH, MA – Following an analysis of the acquisition agreement filed by Jordan Hospital management and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and a series of controversial statements by hospital executives, healthcare workers at Jordan Hospital are raising concerns regarding the future direction of the 155-bed facility.
“While we believe that this acquisition has great potential, healthcare workers have concerns about the current agreement and believe a transparent process that engages the entire Jordan community – including patients and frontline healthcare workers – is necessary,” states a letter from the state’s largest healthcare union, 1199SEIU, that will be sent tomorrow to elected officials and regulators. In hopes of bringing more transparency to the process, healthcare workers at Jordan have now called on the Department of Public Health (DPH) to convene a public hearing on the acquisition prior to its completion.
A review of acquisition documents filed recently with the DPH revealed that the current agreement effectively moves all decision making power from the local community to the BIDMC board where Jordan Hospital will have just one seat.
Unlike other recent acquisition agreements in the local hospital industry, the Jordan agreement does not explicitly ensure the maintenance of local patient care services or jobs for the communities that utilize Jordan Hospital. On a related note, caregivers are also calling for clarity on recent public statements in which spokespersons from Jordan and BIDMC offered conflicting reports regarding the possibility of layoffs at the hospital following the BIDMC takeover (Boston Globe, 8/1/13).
Meanwhile, contract negotiations between Jordan executives and the 850 workers at the hospital who are members of 1199SEIU are slated to begin Monday, August 19. Recent statements by Jordan Hospital CEO Peter Holden indicate he may attempt to use contract negotiations as an opportunity to attack funding for training programs utilized by workers at the facility. Holden’s management team has adopted a controversial stance against training for workers at the hospital – even barring use of hospital conference rooms for educational purposes such as classes related to computer skills and medical terminology.
As negotiations approach, caregivers warn that defunding training at the hospital would prove detrimental to both patient care and the ability of workers to keep pace with emerging technologies and changes in the healthcare field. It is unclear if Holden’s anti-training stance is being encouraged by the prospective new hospital owners at BIDMC or if his management team is simply failing to keep him accurately informed of the positive results that investments in training and education opportunities have produced for patients and caregivers alike within the facility.
Holden also has made comments recently attacking veteran caregivers within the facility – calling arbitrarily for resignations from staff without cause based on their seniority. While some of this posturing by Jordan executives is troubling, healthcare workers maintain that they hope BIDMC plans to invest significant resources in Jordan – not just siphon resources away from the community hospital. Workers are hoping the acquisition will mean greater access to high quality, affordable healthcare for local residents and increased volume at the facility.
Caregivers are advocating for more transparency from management both during a potential public hearing and in sharing information about acquisition plans during upcoming contract negotiation talks.
“This is a fork in the road that is going to have a profound impact on the future of healthcare in the Plymouth area,” said 1199SEIU Vice President Jerry Fishbein. “BIDMC and Jordan executives are either going to do the right thing and invest in this hospital and these towns – or it’s going to get ugly fast if they start trying to drain the life out of healthcare in this community.”
“The public will have a sense very soon whether this acquisition is headed in the right direction,” said Michelle Hill, a lab technician and 1199SEIU member at the hospital. “Jordan caregivers will be vocal and involved every step of the way advocating for transparency and for our patients.”
# # #
Representing more than 400,000 healthcare workers throughout Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and Washington, D.C., 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all.
Thursday, August 15, 2013, Noon
Contact: Jeff Hall, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
617-281-8384, jeff.hall@1199.org, Twitter: @1199mass
Jordan Hospital workers raise concerns and call for public hearing as Beth Israel Deaconess takeover looms
PLYMOUTH, MA – Following an analysis of the acquisition agreement filed by Jordan Hospital management and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and a series of controversial statements by hospital executives, healthcare workers at Jordan Hospital are raising concerns regarding the future direction of the 155-bed facility.
“While we believe that this acquisition has great potential, healthcare workers have concerns about the current agreement and believe a transparent process that engages the entire Jordan community – including patients and frontline healthcare workers – is necessary,” states a letter from the state’s largest healthcare union, 1199SEIU, that will be sent tomorrow to elected officials and regulators. In hopes of bringing more transparency to the process, healthcare workers at Jordan have now called on the Department of Public Health (DPH) to convene a public hearing on the acquisition prior to its completion.
A review of acquisition documents filed recently with the DPH revealed that the current agreement effectively moves all decision making power from the local community to the BIDMC board where Jordan Hospital will have just one seat.
Unlike other recent acquisition agreements in the local hospital industry, the Jordan agreement does not explicitly ensure the maintenance of local patient care services or jobs for the communities that utilize Jordan Hospital. On a related note, caregivers are also calling for clarity on recent public statements in which spokespersons from Jordan and BIDMC offered conflicting reports regarding the possibility of layoffs at the hospital following the BIDMC takeover (Boston Globe, 8/1/13).
Meanwhile, contract negotiations between Jordan executives and the 850 workers at the hospital who are members of 1199SEIU are slated to begin Monday, August 19. Recent statements by Jordan Hospital CEO Peter Holden indicate he may attempt to use contract negotiations as an opportunity to attack funding for training programs utilized by workers at the facility. Holden’s management team has adopted a controversial stance against training for workers at the hospital – even barring use of hospital conference rooms for educational purposes such as classes related to computer skills and medical terminology.
As negotiations approach, caregivers warn that defunding training at the hospital would prove detrimental to both patient care and the ability of workers to keep pace with emerging technologies and changes in the healthcare field. It is unclear if Holden’s anti-training stance is being encouraged by the prospective new hospital owners at BIDMC or if his management team is simply failing to keep him accurately informed of the positive results that investments in training and education opportunities have produced for patients and caregivers alike within the facility.
Holden also has made comments recently attacking veteran caregivers within the facility – calling arbitrarily for resignations from staff without cause based on their seniority. While some of this posturing by Jordan executives is troubling, healthcare workers maintain that they hope BIDMC plans to invest significant resources in Jordan – not just siphon resources away from the community hospital. Workers are hoping the acquisition will mean greater access to high quality, affordable healthcare for local residents and increased volume at the facility.
Caregivers are advocating for more transparency from management both during a potential public hearing and in sharing information about acquisition plans during upcoming contract negotiation talks.
“This is a fork in the road that is going to have a profound impact on the future of healthcare in the Plymouth area,” said 1199SEIU Vice President Jerry Fishbein. “BIDMC and Jordan executives are either going to do the right thing and invest in this hospital and these towns – or it’s going to get ugly fast if they start trying to drain the life out of healthcare in this community.”
“The public will have a sense very soon whether this acquisition is headed in the right direction,” said Michelle Hill, a lab technician and 1199SEIU member at the hospital. “Jordan caregivers will be vocal and involved every step of the way advocating for transparency and for our patients.”
# # #
Representing more than 400,000 healthcare workers throughout Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, and Washington, D.C., 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. Our mission is to achieve affordable, high quality healthcare for all.
