Registered nurses and healthcare workers at two hospitals owned by AHMC Healthcare voted this week to approve new contracts that will improve patient care at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center (SGVMC) in San Gabriel, Ca. and Whittier Hospital Medical Center (WHMC) in Whittier, Ca.
 
The new pact at WHMC covers 300 registered nurses affiliated with California Nurses Association (CNA). The new contract at SGVMC covers 400 RNs affiliated with CNA and 450 healthcare workers affiliated with CHEU, the Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union. CHEU, an affiliate of CNA/NNOC, represents a broad range of caregivers and hospital support staff, such as laboratory technicians, respiratory therapists, aides and food service workers.
 
“The solid turnout of the membership at the ratification votes and the overwhelming support for the new agreement speaks to our hard-fought gains in this contract that protects our patients, our nurses and our healthcare colleagues in Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union (CHEU),” said Veronica Rocha, RN at SGVMC.
 
“We made big gains in this contract that will help us recruit and retain experienced nurses at our hospital,” said Helen Dungo, RN at WHMC. “We are very pleased because this supports registered nurses and healthcare workers providing the quality care our patients and community deserve.”
 
“We are excited to have fought for, and won, and now ratified a contract that we can be proud of. We work hard to support a healing environment at SGVMC and the new contract support us in this work, ” said Rosario Hernandez, Unit Secretary and Certified Nursing Assistant at SGVMC.
 
Key elements of the pacts include:

• Safe staffing improvements, including meals and breaks provisions.
• Economic gains to help with nurse recruitment and retention including, 14-26% wage increases at SGVMC and 17-25% wage increases at WHMC over the four-year course of the agreement.
• An agreement to negotiate enhanced healthcare options for CNA/CHEU employees for 2018-2020.
• Established emerging workplace place violence definitions that provide new protections for healthcare providers within the contract and establishes a Workplace Violence Committee.
• Established an Infectious Disease Task Force (IDTF) to provide bedside workers a voice in workplace health and safety and enhanced the communicable diseases provisions in the CNA/CHEU contract.
• Established safe patient handling and lift policy language in the CNA/CHEU contracts to strengthen compliance with the California Hospital Patient and Healthcare Worker Injury Prevention Act at SGVMC.
• Improvements in benefit provisions including bereavement and jury duty leave.