Advocating for Petaluma Valley Hospital nurses

When you think about a healthy community to live in, what comes to mind? Clean water, food, shelter, quality schools, employment opportunities, access to a hospital and emergency services? These basic necessities are probably near, or at the top of your list.

The nurses at Petaluma Valley Hospital (PVH), and other community leaders, are asking you to pay close attention to what is going on with your local hospital. Consider what services are offered and the quality of care you need and expect if you or your loved one were to become a patient at PVH, now or in the future.

When it comes to the overall health and well-being of the members of the Petaluma community (no matter who your insurance carrier is), PVH has a large role to play. We all deserve a fully functional hospital that can safely diagnose and treat the ailments that we experience throughout a lifetime.

Starting with the birth of a child and progressing to the special needs of end of life care, PVH is a valuable community resource. This also includes home health care support and outpatient services, as well as available CPR classes and rehabilitation needs. Having Petaluma Valley Hospital in our community as a thriving and fully functional hospital is not a right, and it should not be taken for granted.

On Saturday April 13, PVH nurses and many community members came together for a rally/informational picket in front of the hospital to draw attention to this subject. St. Joseph Health System has been making a bid to extend the lease that would allow them to continue operating PVH into the future. Over the last few years, since expressing interest in continuing to operate the hospital, St. Joseph has failed to provide any detailed vision or plan for growing PVH, or commitment to providing all the services our community says are essential.

For the nurses of PVH, it’s all about safe staffing levels and fostering a safe, non-punitive work environment. St. Joseph Health System, and the union that represents the nurses (Petaluma Staff Nurse Partnership SNP), are in the middle of contract negotiations, and there are some serious concerns regarding St. Joseph’s actual commitment to the longevity and growth of PVH.

These are the basic building blocks for providing safe care. A community member who participated in the rally said, “I can’t believe you all need to be out here fighting over language to protect safe staffing. I never would have thought that was something a person should have to worry about when you’re in the hospital. I would have thought safe staffing levels were a given.”

During negotiations for a new contract, a vision or plan for growth of PVH should be directly reflected in the language proposed by St. Joseph. This language should provide for safe staffing levels, a supportive, non-punitive work environment, and should attract and retain high quality nurses. Providing these things creates a safe, stable and productive work environment and reduces burnout and turnover. This in turn helps grow and maintain needed services. We already have this type of language in our current contract. St. Joseph, through the language being proposed, is trying to undermine these safety protections, which makes no sense and would benefit no one.

The nurses have said repeatedly during negotiations that St. Joseph’s proposed language, if accepted, would not keep their patients safe, therefore it could never be accepted. St. Joseph has told the nurses that they do not agree and do not want them informing the community about what is going on at the negotiating table.

This is why you are frequently seeing PVH nurses out in the community, running adds in the paper, or engaged in a billboard campaign. We need you, the community, to fully understand what is at stake, and we need St. Joseph Health to commit to operating our hospital safely. Your support is critical.

Visit snponline.net to stay updated on union activities and read regular negotiation updates. Follow us on Instagram at petaluma.snp, and on Facebook at Petaluma Staff Nurse Partnership.

(Jim Goerlich is president of Petaluma Staff Nurse Partnership and a registered nurse at Petaluma Valley Hospital.)