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Nurses' Pay Will Be 20 to 25 Percent Higher, Include Weekend Incentive Program

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 00:00 CST

By Robin Lord, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

Mar. 22--HYANNIS -- Cape Cod Hospital nurses by a 3-to-1 margin ratified on Monday a new three-year contract, which gives them staffing assurances, pay raises and retains the weekend incentive program for another year.

"Overall, we're pleased with this contract," said Cheryl Cochran, vice president of the nurses association at the Hyannis hospital.

Hospital labor negotiator Michael Foley said the contract "meets all of the hospital's goals and objectives."

The vote signals the end of a contentious seven-month bargaining period between the 600 or so registered nurses and the hospital. The matter came to a head last month when the hospital announced it was ending a weekend incentive program that allowed nurses to work two 12-hour shifts for more pay and fewer benefits.

Nurses claimed the move would force some out of their jobs when weekend nurses bumped their less senior counterparts from more desirable weekday shifts.

The new contract, which has the exact pay increases and health benefits as the one ratified by nurses at Falmouth Hospital on March 13, includes pay raises 20 to 25 percent higher over the life of the contract than current salaries, according to Foley.

Starting pay for nurses will go from $23.38 per hour to $26 in the contract's third year. Pay for nurses on the top step of the pay scale will increase from $39 per hour to $47.

The contract also ensures that the hospital will continue to contribute to nurses' health insurance coverage based on their years of service and hours worked. New with this contract are higher copayments for doctors' visits and prescription drugs, Foley said.

Nurses union president Marilyn Rouette insisted that staffing was always the most important issue in this year's negotiating sessions. Nurses and management reviewed staffing floor-by-floor at the hospital during bargaining and while the hospital declined to put the numbers in the contract, she said the two sides have agreed on the ratios.

Under the agreement, most floors will have one nurse caring for no more than four or five patients, depending on the severity of the patient and how complicated their care is. Intensive care nurses will care for no more than two patients.

The two sides also agreed on reviving a staffing committee comprised of nurses and managers who will monitor staffing ratios, Rouette said.

The contract also requires the hospital to "balance admit," which makes sure patients are spread out evenly throughout the hospital so unit nurses are not overburdened.

Foley said it is possible that at times the hospital will have to refrain from filling a bed, if the hospital census is at or above the agreed staffing ratio. He said the contract will help determine staffing levels, such as the actual hospital census, the number of patients in the ER and the level of sickness of patients in a unit.

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To see more of the Cape Cod Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes.

Copyright (c) 2006, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Cape Cod Times

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