St. Joseph’s to meet with PVH workers

<p>St. Joseph Health System of Sonoma County administrators have agreed to meet in March with Petaluma Valley Hospital workers who are upset about the recent layoffs of 30 employees and the reduced hours of an additional 12 workers.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The proposed meetings grew out of a discussion during a meeting of the Petaluma Health Care District’s Hospital Stewardship Committee on Monday at PVH that focused solely on the employee cutbacks. Several nurses, nursing assistants and other employees attended the meeting, and some expressed concern that the proposed meeting would be productive only if St. Joseph is willing to reconsider the layoffs and explore alternative cost-cutting measures.</p><p>Debra Miller, SJHS of Sonoma County’s vice president of human resources, said, “Yes, absolutely,” when asked if St. Joseph would come to the meeting to listen, with “an open heart and an open mind.” Katy Hillenmeyer, spokeswoman for SJHS of Sonoma County, later clarified, however, that the decisions regarding the layoffs and hour reductions will stand.</p><p>“The meetings will allow for open dialogue about how best to restructure and reassign tasks so we maintain excellence in patient care, safety and satisfaction,” Hillenmeyer said. “This process already has begun at both of our Sonoma County hospitals, and the March meetings will be focused on how best to fine tune and implement these plans in light of staffing changes at PVH.”</p><p>PVH administrators and managers will join with overall SJHS of Sonoma County executives in meeting with employees at a time conducive to attendance by the largest array and number of employees.</p><p>Affected PVH employees received 60-day notices earlier this month. Displaced employees are being given severance pay and will continue receiving benefits up to 26 weeks beyond the date that their employee period ends, based on years of service.</p><p>Many of the affected employees still are working at PVH, but registered nurse Kitty Brown, who made a presentation at the meeting, expressed doubts that there is enough time to develop a revised plan, even if St. Joseph were willing to do so.</p><p>“We’re willing to look at everything, but I don’t think anything can be done in the time frame that is available,” she said. </p><p>At least 19 of the employees affected by the cutbacks are nursing assistants, and several of the others also work in positions that directly assist RNs, Brown previously said. She, along with several of the other RNs, complained at the meeting that front-line nurses did not have direct input into the decision on employee layoffs and hours reductions.</p><p>“St. Joseph has shown a lack of concern for the bedside staff and front-line staff. We weren’t asked what we could do to improve things,” said registered nurse Lucinda Lofftus, who also made a presentation.</p><p>St. Joseph administrators consulted with managers of all departments — including nursing — at PVH and utilized the consulting branch of PricewaterhouseCoopers to help them determine where cutbacks could be made, based on the staffing at similar-size hospitals. </p><p>Miller said that Kevin Klockenga, the interim CEO of SJHS of Sonoma County, held forums in December and January in which he said that several cost-cutting possibilities were being considered, including staff cutbacks. Employees were invited to attend these and other gatherings, she said. </p><p>Some of the nurses at the meeting on Monday said that they didn’t attend the gatherings because they didn’t feel that their input would be valued.</p><p>“After speaking with Kevin Klockenga (the interim CEO of SJHS of Sonoma County), I don’t think he had any idea that some of the front-line staff feel that they aren’t being heard,” said Kathryn Powell, the CEO of the Petaluma Health Center, who also serves on the PHCD committee. “I really think that St. Joseph administrators will listen to them at the March meetings.”</p><p>Many of the nurses and nursing assistants stressed that their main concern is that the cutbacks would severely hurt quality of care and patient safety, although St. Joseph claims that this will not happen. Miller and Lynn Finley, director of nursing at PVH, both said that the level of full-time employees per occupied bed at the hospital is higher than the average, similar-size California hospital. </p><p>“Regardless of what happens, Petaluma Valley Hospital is a safe place for patients to be, and will continue to be a safe place for them to be,” Brown said. “I just wish we had a partner to work with.”</p><p>The Petaluma Health Care District doesn’t have the authority, accountability or funding to address specific procedural staffing issues, but is responsible for supporting the internal process of conflict resolution and for gathering pertinent information regarding the hospital.</p><p>In a related development, PVH nursing staff representatives and St. Joseph administrators are scheduled to discuss the layoffs during a meeting on Tuesday, March 3 with labor representative Erik Conradson of the California Nurses Association. Brown said that one of the nurses’ contentions is that by implementing the layoffs and reducing hours, RNs will be forced to do the work of some of these employees and will not have sufficient time to do all their work. </p><p>Some of the nurses feel that this violates St. Joseph’s contract with the CNA, which stipulates that RNs must be able to do their full scope of practice with each patient in the hospital.</p><p>(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)</p>