Author Suzanne Gordon speaks about safe staffing in hospitals

Suzanne Gordon

"Safety in Numbers" Author Suzanne Gordon spoke to SEIU Healthcare 1199NW members in Spokane and Seattle about the benefits and effectiveness of staffing ratios in California and the state of Victoria in Australia. Gordon discussed how hospital cost cutting and layoffs in the 1990s created larger workloads and deteriorating conditions for both nurses and their patients.

We have a plan to win safe staffing in our hospitals - more than 4,000 SEIU Healthcare 1199NW nurses will be bargaining this spring to strengthen staffing contract language. Nurses from Seattle-area hospitals discussed bargaining proposals as part of a panel discussion at the safe staffing event with Suzanne Gordon.

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Show your support for patient care at Deaconess Medical Center

We are nurses at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane. We are dedicated to caring for patients.

As we begin National Nurses Week, we are very concerned about the quality of patient care at Deaconess. More than 80 members of our patient care team at Deaconess were recently laid off.

Nurses and other frontline staff are struggling daily to create a culture of safety while keeping our patients number one. We can only reach our goals by working together to create a culture of putting patients first.

Share your concerns about patient care at Deaconess Medical Center

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SEIU endorses Governor Gregoire

Bev Barker, RN and Governor Gregoire

Citing Governor Chris Gregoire’s record of support on quality services for all Washington residents, the 103,000 members of SEIU in Washington, including child care teachers, nurses, home care workers, public school workers, janitors, and other announced their support today for Governor Chris Gregoire.
View a slideshow of photos from this event

“Chris Gregoire is the Healthcare Governor – she’s fought through red tape to ensure our kids have access to quality healthcare, and she recognizes how important safe staffing in our hospitals is,” Bev Barker, an RN and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW member from Swedish Medical Center said. “As a nurse, I see how Governor Gregoire’s work protects patients.”
View photos from this event

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Multi-employer Bargaining a first for our union

Training and staffing will be major priorities when more than 15,000 of us bargain this year – nurses, techs, professionals and service workers from Tacoma to Spokane.

Two legislative victories - winning $1.5 million from the state for training and passing a law that puts us on the road to safe staffing – provide the perfect launch pad for real bargaining breakthroughs.

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Governor Gregoire signs Working Families Tax Credit into Law

Victory! Governor Chris Gregoire signed the Working Families Tax Credit into law on Tuesday, a policy which will give an additional tax rebate to nearly 350,000 families across the state. 1199NW members across the state emailed and called the Governor to tell her how important this credit is to working families. This victory is the biggest improvement in our tax structure since the removal of sales tax on food 30 years ago.

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2008 Legislative Report: Progress for Patients & Caregivers

Our hard work in the 2008 Legislative session paid off – our emails, phone calls, visits and targeted coalition work resulted in key victories for our members, patients and communities.

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Healthcare workers rally for Obama

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW President Diane Sosne meets with Governor Chris Gregoire, and Senator Barack Obama at the Seattle rally

Hundreds of SEIU healthcare workers gathered in support of Senator Barack Obama at Key Arena in Seattle. SEIU Healthcare 1199NW has recommended Barack Obama for president. "We're going to make sure our nurses aren't overworked, and we won't wait twenty years to do it. We'll do it by the end of my first term as United States president."

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"We can't accept short staffing."

"My greatest personal reward is to help bring a new child into the world safely. I'd like every birth to be a safe one. But when we are short-staffed, our patients are at risk. As caregivers, we can't accept the risks that come with short staffing - and neither should our patients."

-- Konnie Campagna,
Registered Nurse, Valley Medical Center

A win on housing

In the 2008 legislative session, SEIU 1199NW members and other housing advocates were successful in winning an additional $70 million for the Housing Trust Fund. We are proud of our advocacy work -- check out our 2008 housing lobby day blog here. The Housing Trust Fund supports the development of affordable housing and housing for the homeless. We advocated for this money because we know that stable housing is the foundation for people getting the other basic necessities in life, including health care.

Got something to say about housing and healthcare? Join in the conversation at A Place to Call Home

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Safe Nurse Staffing and Healthcare Worker Training Highlight Purple Day in Olympia

Nurses and members from Empire Health Services in Spokane meet with Senator Chris Marr on our big lobby day, Jan. 21.

In face-to-face lobbying, we won commitments from many legislators to support safe nurse staffing and also a $3 million fund to train current healthcare workers to move into shortage positions.

Check out pictures of SEIU 1199NW members lobbying for patient safety. And if you've got some photos, you can add your own!

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In housing we trust

"Hundreds of concerned citizens fanned out into our local community in the early hours of Jan. 25, counting people who are homeless. The preliminary estimate was some 8,600 individuals living in cars, under bridges, and in doorways, alleys, shelters and temporary housing — about 15 percent more than last year."
Read more of this op-ed by Bill Hobson and Diane Sosne in the Seattle Times

SEIU Healthcare 1199NW District-wide elections

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