California Nurses' Union Pulls Ebola Into Contract Talks
The powerful California Nurses Association has put Ebola on the bargaining table in its negotiations for a new contract with Kaiser Permanente.
Contract talks have been going on for months, and the nurses' most recent demands are focused on Ebola — better training, more staffing, protective gear that goes beyond what's recommended by federal officials and even a special life insurance policy.
"We'd like to have an extra supplemental coverage, for specifically Ebola, if we were to contract Ebola while we're at work," says Diane McClure, a nurse at Kaiser Permanente's hospital in Sacramento, where a patient suspected of having Ebola was treated in August. He later tested negative for the virus.
She says even a month after the Ebola scare at her hospital, nurses hadn't received any meaningful hands-on training.
"They felt that all they had to do was pull up some [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] information online and put some flyers on the tables and in the bathroom and that was it," says McClure, who is a member of the nurses' bargaining team.
Leaders from California's union and its partner in lobbying, National Nurses United, are quick to label the problems with training as a symptom of the country's fragmented health care system. The CDC issues guidelines, state departments of public health pass them on, then it's up to each hospital to take it from there.
The unions say fragmentation and a lack of protocols are the reasons two nurses at Dallas' Texas Health Presbyterian hospital were infected with Ebola. They've hosted several rallies for the nurses at the Dallas hospital, while noting that it isn't unionized.
Joanne Spetz, an economics professor at the nursing school of the University of California San Francisco, says National Nurses United is doing what any other group that's looking to gain membership would do.
"Of course it's opportunistic," says Spetz, but "Texas is a state that has had virtually no union representation for registered nurses. So NNU may view this as an opportunity to demonstrate to nurses in the state what the value of their representation might be."
Kaiser Permanente has yet to respond to all of the California Nurses Association's demands. In a statement, Kaiser Permanente said that it is rolling out new training this week, including videos and simulation exercises. And it is supplying protective gear that is consistent with current CDC guidelines.
This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes KQED, NPR and Kaiser Health News. Kaiser Health News is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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Transcript
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
The risk of Ebola to health care workers has become an issue in contract negotiations in California. April Dembosky, of member station KQED, reports on the discussions between a large health network and the state's nurses union.
APRIL DEMBOSKY, BYLINE: Nurses have put Ebola on the bargaining table. The powerful California Nurses Association has been negotiating with Kaiser Permanente for months over a new contract. Among its most recent demands are better training, better protective gear, more staffing and a special life insurance policy for nurses who may treat patients infected with Ebola. Diane McClure is a nurse at Kaiser's Hospital in Sacramento, where a patient suspected of having Ebola was treated in August. He later tested negative.
DIANE MCCLURE: We'd like to have an extra supplemental coverage for specifically Ebola if we were to contract Ebola while we we're at work.
DEMBOSKY: She says even a month after the Ebola scare at her hospital, Kaiser has not provided nurses with any meaningful hands-on training.
MCCLURE: They felt that all they had to do was pull up some CDC information online and put some flyers on the tables and in the bathroom and that was it.
DEMBOSKY: Leaders from California's union and its partner in lobbying, National Nurses United, are quick to call this a symptom of the country's fragmented health care system. The CDC issues guidelines, state department's of public health pass them on. And then it's up to each individual hospital to take it from there. The unions say this is the reason two nurses in Dallas were infected with Ebola. They've hosted several rallies for the nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian, while carefully noting that the hospital is not unionized. Professor Joanne Spetz, of the University of California San Francisco, says the union is doing what any other group would do.
JOANNE SPETZ: Of course it's opportunistic.
DEMBOSKY: She says many of their demands address real problems in the health care system. But National Nurses United is always looking to gain membership.
SPETZ: Texas is a state that has had virtually no union representation for registered nurses, so NNU may view this as an opportunity to demonstrate to nurses in that state what the value of their representation might be.
DEMBOSKY: In California, Kaiser has yet to respond to all the nurses' demands. In a statement, it said that it is rolling out new training this week, including videos and simulation exercises. And it is supplying protective gear that is consistent with current CDC guidelines. For NPR News, I'm April Dembosky in San Francisco. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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