Immediate - Thursday, March 9, 2006

Maria McClellan (802) 847-2886
Fletcher Allen Health Care

John Gallagher (802) 657-4040
Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals

BURLINGTON, VT - Fletcher Allen Health Care and the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (VFNHP) today signed an agreement to pursue a new joint union/management process for developing nurse staffing plans.

The new joint process is patterned after provisions in Kaiser Permanente's national nursing union contract and emphasizes union/management collaboration and patient-centered care.  Going forward, unit-by-unit staffing plans are to be based on these considerations. The plans for each unit must ultimately be approved by both union and management.

"We are very excited about this new collaborative approach to staffing which will benefit everyone - most importantly our patients," said Melinda Estes, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fletcher Allen.  "I want to thank the union leadership for bringing this new idea to Fletcher Allen and for agreeing to collaborate in such an innovative way."

"Nurses know what patients need, and we have always known that safe staffing is directly related to the quality of care patients receive," said Jennifer Henry, RN and President of the Registered Nurses' union.  "This process gives nurses the opportunity to redesign our Units to a more patient-centered model with budgets being conformed to reflect this improved level of care.  This will result in a huge improvement for the patients," Henry said.

"I am pleased that this agreement also allows licensed practical nurses who are enrolled in an RN educational program to be counted equally with registered nurses on their respective units," said Linda Thompson, President of the LPN union at Fletcher Allen. "We are continuing to work with the hospital to develop a program that creates opportunities for more Fletcher Allen LPNs to get their RN license."

Arbitration Process

Prior to adopting this new collaborative approach, Fletcher Allen management and the VFNHP had agreed to use staffing ratios to determine staffing levels in inpatient areas.  Specifically, Article 20 of the current three-year union contract, which expires July 9, 2006, said: "Staffing budgets and plans will be consistent with staffing ratios approved by national nursing specialty groups as well as findings from national nursing research regarding nurse staffing and patient outcomes."

In November of 2004, the union filed a grievance claiming that Fletcher Allen was not abiding by the terms of Article 20, and the issue moved to arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association.  The arbitration proceedings stretched into 2006, but both sides recently agreed to resolve the issue outside of the proceedings by adopting the new joint union/management approach.

The agreement lays out a process that brings nurses and unit managers together to redesign the way care is provided in each unit of the hospital and allows for budgets to be conformed to the jointly created care model.  The plans will be collaboratively developed, and approved by both the nurses and the hospital administration.  This will support Fletcher Allen's pursuit of "Magnet Status," a goal shared by the union and Fletcher Allen.

Contract Negotiations

Fletcher Allen's three-year contract with the VFNHP expires on July 9, 2006, and negotiations regarding a new contract began today.

In adopting the new joint union/management process for developing nurse staffing plans, the VFNHP has withdrawn its grievance concerning the old language in Article 20 about staffing ratios and has agreed to insert new language in its place regarding the new joint union/management process for staffing. 

The new Article 20 identifies five inpatient units to start the joint planning process, with the objective of completing joint plans for these units, as "model units," no later than January 2007.  Eventually, every unit will go through the process.  As each unit's plan is completed, it will be incorporated into the contract.

In adopting the new joint union/management process for staffing, Fletcher Allen and the VFNHP also agreed that staffing levels will be removed from the upcoming contract negotiations.  Issues regarding staffing flexibility, retention and recruitment of nurses remain to be discussed.  The VFNHP has the right to re-open negotiations on Article 20 in one year if it is not satisfied with the way the joint process is meeting patient needs.