Unions and Patients Charge RI's Hospitals Are "Dangerous" -- in Financial and Staffing Chaos

Unions and Patients Charge RI's Hospitals Are "Dangerous" -- in Financial and Staffing Chaos

Charges are flying by patients and staff at Rhode Island's hospitals that the facilities are in crisis.

The state is dominated by three hospital groups — CharterCare, Care New England and Lifespan.  Combined the three control about 90% of the market.

The first two — CharterCare and Care New England — are facing labor actions by unions. One of the leading unions says the situation is "dangerous."

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Lifespan, the largest of the three groups, is under fire for waiting times of 9 hours or more at Hasbro Children’s, The Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals.

The waiting times and the frustration being experienced by parents seeking care for their children at Hasbro was highlighted by GoLocal on Wednesday.

After the publication of the story, GoLocal was bombarded with calls and social media posts about stories of being forced to wait at Lifespan hospitals for as long as 12 hours.

But, Lifespan is refusing to answer questions about the mounting problems.

Lifespan spokesperson Kathleen Hart did not respond to requests for comment about the crisis.

Lifespan’s problems go beyond waiting times. It lost nearly $50 million last quarter and has been without a permanent CEO for months.

"They need to do something. They called in the [National Guard] with COVID," Melissa DaRosa told GoLocal of her story of a nine hour wait time. "They need to call someone in for help with the Children's Hospital." 

 

Charges the Staff Shortages at Care New England are “Dangerous”

On Wednesday, caregivers at Care New England’s Women & Infants Hospital gathered for an informational picket to call for an end to what they say are "dangerously short staffing levels that put patients and staff at risk."

Caregivers, who are members of SEIU 1199NE, have been demanding for months that management sit down to discuss short and long-term solutions to invest the $45 million Rhode Island hospitals have received in COVID-relief ARPA funds. Hospital executives have refused to engage in dialogue to address the ongoing staffing crisis that possesses no end in sight, says the union. 

Care New England is on the financial edge. The company has lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade and has spent millions in a number of failed mergers with SouthCoast Health Systems, Partners HealthCare (now rebranded Mass General Brigham) and most recently with Lifespan.

“We have risked our own safety and that of our families, pulled extra shifts and held up our end of the bargain; now we are calling on management to sit down with us and tell us what their plan is to get our system back on track. Enough is enough,” said Kelli Price, a Registered Nurse in the Medical, Surgical, Oncology, Critical Care unit for over 20 years.

According to SEIU, “Each day, over 1,700 frontline caregivers at Women and Infants provide quality care to mothers and newborns as well as provide a variety of women’s health services. But for years, caregivers and other frontline staff have worked without the staffing they need which was made far worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontline caregivers at Women and Infants Hospital were instrumental in securing $45 million of ARPA funds through the Rhode Island state budget intended to help stabilize a workforce desperately depleted over two years of pandemic strain with the General Assembly stipulating 80% is required to invest directly in frontline workers.”

Caregivers are demanding CNE sit down with frontline caregivers and discuss how best to invest ARPA funds in critical workforce stabilization measures including competitive wage increases, safer staffing levels, free or reduced training and career development. Without meaningful staffing increases, the hospital will not be able to turn the corner on recruitment and retainment and provide high-quality care to vulnerable patients, said SEIU.

Care New England owns Kent, Butler and Women & Infants hospitals.

 

United Nurses & Allied Professionals Picketing on Thursday at CharterCare

The United Nurses and Allied Professionals, representing the nurses and health care workers at Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Prospect Home Health and Hospice, will hold an informational picket Thursday at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital.

"The UNAP and Prospect Medical Holdings management have been bargaining for months for contracts with Fatima Service Workers, Roger Williams RN's and employees at Prospect Home Health and Hospice, but Prospect CharterCare refuses to negotiate contracts that provide sufficient wages, benefits and working conditions for these health care workers – proposals that will lead to a decline in quality of care for patients," claims the union.

Last week, the nurses and healthcare workers at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Prospect Home Health and Hospice overwhelmingly voted to give the union authorization to issue a 10-day strike notice if Prospect continues to drag their feet at the bargaining table. 

Otis Brown, a spokesperson for the hospital group, said, "CharterCARE is focused on continuing what has been productive, good-faith negotiations with bargaining units represented by UNAP. At this stage, we are discussing wages and benefits and have presented considerable, market-competitive proposals reflecting the current economic environment. We are optimistic that, like all other previous contract agreements with UNAP, we can reach fair and equitable settlements with our valued employees.”