Immediate  (March 25, 2005)

Maria McClellan / Mike Noble

Fletcher Allen Public Relations

(802) 847-2886

Fletcher Allen Health Care and the Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals Reach Agreement on Increased Wages for RNs and LPNs

BURLINGTON, VT - Representatives of Fletcher Allen Health Care and the Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals (VFNHP) reached an agreement on increased wages for Fletcher Allen registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) after a 14-hour negotiating session that concluded at approximately 12:10 a.m.

Wages Increased for Registered Nurses

Fletcher Allen agreed to a 4.5 percent increase for registered nurses, effective October 1, 2005, moving the average base pay of a registered nurse at Fletcher Allen from $53,000 to $55,300.

Fletcher Allen also agreed to provide an additional $3.3 million dollars to increase nurses' compensation based on their years of nursing experience.

"We are very pleased that both sides stayed at the table until an agreement was reached," said Paul Macuga, Chief Human Resources Officer.  "We believe this agreement shows Fletcher Allen's commitment to continuing to attract and retain registered nurses in a highly competitive labor environment characterized by a national nursing shortage."

Fletcher Allen's recent RN recruitment efforts included hiring a total of 71 full time equivalents (FTEs) as part of its 100-day recruitment effort in 2004.  Fletcher Allen's RN recruitment efforts have continued in 2005, with the organization hiring an additional 25 FTEs since January of 2005.

In addition, Fletcher Allen's retention efforts have been yielding results, evidenced by the fact that fewer nurses are leaving the organization.  The organization's inpatient nurse turnover rate dropped to 7.7 percent in 2004 from 10.5 percent in 2003.  The state of Vermont nurse turnover rate is 13 percent, and the national rate for academic medical centers is 21 percent.

Wages Also Increased for Licensed Practical Nurses

Fletcher Allen agreed to increase the base salaries of licensed practical nurses (LPNs) by 3.5 percent, effective October 1, 2005 under a separate contract.  Fletcher Allen also agreed to review the pay of each LPN respective to years of service and to make adjustments.  Fletcher Allen has approximately 150 LPNs on staff as part of the care team.  The current LPN contract, signed in June of 2004, runs through June of 2006.

Background on the RN Contract

Fletcher Allen currently is in the second year of a three-year contract with the VFNHP.  The current three-year RN contract raised salaries for registered nurses by two to four percent in the first year (effective October of 2003), by three percent in the second year (beginning October of 2004) and called for a three percent increase in the third year (beginning October of 2005).  Today's wage increase agreement replaces the original wage increase planned for the third year of the contract.  The contract is subject to renegotiation in 2006.