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Denver nurses organize in citywide effort
Denver nurses organize in citywide effort
Dissatisfaction with working conditions and salaries has led nurses in Denver to form a citywide effort to organize hospital nurses for collective bargaining. Beginning with a small group at Mercy Medical Center, the movement grew with a sick-out and rally in June. Representatives from the city’s hospitals began meeting weekly and formed the Citywide Nurses Association. Problems center on patient care, working conditions, and salaries, said Paul Hudson, RN, vice-chairman for public relations. He is a staff nurse in the intensive care unit at St Luke’s Hospital. “Money is not the only issue,” he said. “There is a lack of incentives in nursing. Funds under the Nurse Training Act have been cut and nursing education is expensive, so there is a shortage of nurses coming into the profession. Nurses now working are overburdened and burned out. So you have fewer nurses coming in and more leaving,” he continued. “There is no time for nursing care. There is no time for the psychological and sociological aspects of patient care. And we barely have time to care even for the patient’s biological functions.” Economics are part of the problem, he said. “Traditionally, nursing has been a women’s profession. Nurses have received lesser salaries than industrial workers for greater education and more responsibility. “A major problem is duplication and lack of sensitivity from administration,” he added. “Everything is for the physical plant. We as nurses can’t understand why they insist on investing in more machinery and not on nursing staff Hudson said that because there are too many beds in the city, “the patient subsidizes the extra rooms and expanding physical plant. That’s what makes costs go up.” .I’
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Denver nurses first became aware of their status when an organization called NURSE, INC, began studying the effect of sex discrimination on nurses’ salaries, he said. That group filed suit in federal court in 1976 charging that in the city job classification and pay scale system, tree trimmers and tire servicemen earn more than nurses. They are appealing a district court decision in which the judge said he ruled against the nurses even though he believed they had been discriminated against. (See AORN Journal, July 1978, 13.) Beginning salaries for graduate nurses in Denver are $5.90 to $6.20 an hour, although the level recommended by Denver Career Services is $6.66 to $8.31, said Chris Romaine, economic and general welfare representative for the Colorado Nurses’ Association (CNA). “Nurses coming in from other states are just aghast,” she said. “It used to be that nurses passing through Colorado might stay here to work. That‘s no longer true. They keep on going.” At a meeting in August attended by 1,100 nurses from city hospitals, nurses voted to affiliate with the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (FNHP), a department of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Hudson said. At the meeting, six groups that bargain for nurses were invited to make presentations. The group included CNA. According to Hudson, the nurses voted “overwhelmingly” for the FNHP. The AFT announced in November 1978 that it would begin organizing nurses nationwide. Since then they have become a direct competitor with the American Nurses’ Association and its state affiliates in organizing nurses. The Citywide Nurses Association is in the
AORN Journal, November 1979,Vol30, No 5
process of chartering a local chapter of the FNHP, and three hospitals are petitioning for union elections. Hudson said the majority of the city’s other hospitals are also in the process of organizing. Asked about the response from hospital administrators, Romaine said it was mixed. Some hospitals have been meeting with their nursing staffs on the issues, and others have not, she said. Jan Coolidge, a national representativewith the FNHP said the responsehad been “one-sided” and that some hospitals were hiring management consultantsto thwart the organizing effort. John Osborn, a leader of the movement and
a nurse at Mercy Medical Center, was fired Aug 20. He said the reason was union activities. The hospital said he failed to meet his “management responsibilities” by making “public statements,” according to the Denver Post. Of the 29,000 registerednurses in Colorado, 18,000 are currently practicing. Romaine attributed the low activity rate to unfavorable working conditions. Hudson commented that control over practice was the central problem that had motivatedthe nurses to organize. “It’s a vicious cycle,” he said. Everything is institution-oriented. Nurses are getting disgusted with getting lost in the institution.”
Polymicrobial infections show marked increase A medical group at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit has noted a marked increase in episodes of serious infection that are caused by several different bacteria appearing in the body at the same time. Writing in the Journal of the American MedicalAssociation, Daria Kiani, MD, Edward L Quinn, MD, and colleagues reported that polymicrobial bacteremia increased from 6% in 1970 to 13% in 1975 in patients with bloodstreaminfections.The importanceof this trend is indicated by a comparisonof mortality rates. In one study, 39 of 88 patients (44.5%) with polymicrobial bacteremia died, compared with 18% of those with an infection caused by only one bacteria (monomicrobial bacteremia). The multiple infection appeared most frequently in genitourinary (27%) and gastrointestinal (26%)conditions. It frequently followed invasive procedures (68%), was more common in hospitalized patients (73%), and was often associated with malignancies (25%) or cancer treatment (34%). The offending organisms most frequently found were gram-negative aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria. Factorsthat seemed to predisposea patient to polymicrobial bacteremia included obstruction of genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts with localized infection behind the area of obstruction, perforation of bowel, operation on the bowel, and
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transurethral or suprapubic resection of the prostate. Surgery plus multiple intubationsand cannulations was also associated with the multiple infection. Malignancy with immunosuppressive or cancer chemotherapy was also important in the course of development of the disease and its high mortality. Thirty-four percent of the patientswere receivingsuch therapy before or during the polymicrobial bacteremia, in contrast to 10%of patientswith monomicrobial bacteremia.
Computer assists in dyslexia detection A computer-assistedtechnique has been developed for the early detection of dyslexia, a reading disability. Described in Computers and Medicine, brain electrical activity mapping (BEAM) allows researchers to distinguish between disorders caused by anatomical abnormalities, such as tumors, and function disorders such as dyslexia. According to Frank H Duffy, MD, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Boston, the use of objective and noninvasive methods, such as BEAM, will aid in diagnosing the condition in preschool-age children. “If children can be identified before they experience reading failure and given appropriate aids to improve their reading function, they will be better armed to cope with the disability,” Dr Duffy said.
AORN Journal, November 1979, Val 30,N o 5
Dissatisfaction with working conditions and salaries has led nurses in Denver to form a citywide effort to organize hospital nurses for collective bargaining. Beginning with a small group at Mercy Medical Center, the movement grew with a sick-out and rally in June. Representatives from the city’s hospitals began meeting weekly and formed the Citywide Nurses Association. Problems center on patient care, working conditions, and salaries, said Paul Hudson, RN, vice-chairman for public relations. He is a staff nurse in the intensive care unit at St Luke’s Hospital. “Money is not the only issue,” he said. “There is a lack of incentives in nursing. Funds under the Nurse Training Act have been cut and nursing education is expensive, so there is a shortage of nurses coming into the profession. Nurses now working are overburdened and burned out. So you have fewer nurses coming in and more leaving,” he continued. “There is no time for nursing care. There is no time for the psychological and sociological aspects of patient care. And we barely have time to care even for the patient’s biological functions.” Economics are part of the problem, he said. “Traditionally, nursing has been a women’s profession. Nurses have received lesser salaries than industrial workers for greater education and more responsibility. “A major problem is duplication and lack of sensitivity from administration,” he added. “Everything is for the physical plant. We as nurses can’t understand why they insist on investing in more machinery and not on nursing staff Hudson said that because there are too many beds in the city, “the patient subsidizes the extra rooms and expanding physical plant. That’s what makes costs go up.” .I’
94%
Denver nurses first became aware of their status when an organization called NURSE, INC, began studying the effect of sex discrimination on nurses’ salaries, he said. That group filed suit in federal court in 1976 charging that in the city job classification and pay scale system, tree trimmers and tire servicemen earn more than nurses. They are appealing a district court decision in which the judge said he ruled against the nurses even though he believed they had been discriminated against. (See AORN Journal, July 1978, 13.) Beginning salaries for graduate nurses in Denver are $5.90 to $6.20 an hour, although the level recommended by Denver Career Services is $6.66 to $8.31, said Chris Romaine, economic and general welfare representative for the Colorado Nurses’ Association (CNA). “Nurses coming in from other states are just aghast,” she said. “It used to be that nurses passing through Colorado might stay here to work. That‘s no longer true. They keep on going.” At a meeting in August attended by 1,100 nurses from city hospitals, nurses voted to affiliate with the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (FNHP), a department of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Hudson said. At the meeting, six groups that bargain for nurses were invited to make presentations. The group included CNA. According to Hudson, the nurses voted “overwhelmingly” for the FNHP. The AFT announced in November 1978 that it would begin organizing nurses nationwide. Since then they have become a direct competitor with the American Nurses’ Association and its state affiliates in organizing nurses. The Citywide Nurses Association is in the
AORN Journal, November 1979,Vol30, No 5
process of chartering a local chapter of the FNHP, and three hospitals are petitioning for union elections. Hudson said the majority of the city’s other hospitals are also in the process of organizing. Asked about the response from hospital administrators, Romaine said it was mixed. Some hospitals have been meeting with their nursing staffs on the issues, and others have not, she said. Jan Coolidge, a national representativewith the FNHP said the responsehad been “one-sided” and that some hospitals were hiring management consultantsto thwart the organizing effort. John Osborn, a leader of the movement and
a nurse at Mercy Medical Center, was fired Aug 20. He said the reason was union activities. The hospital said he failed to meet his “management responsibilities” by making “public statements,” according to the Denver Post. Of the 29,000 registerednurses in Colorado, 18,000 are currently practicing. Romaine attributed the low activity rate to unfavorable working conditions. Hudson commented that control over practice was the central problem that had motivatedthe nurses to organize. “It’s a vicious cycle,” he said. Everything is institution-oriented. Nurses are getting disgusted with getting lost in the institution.”
Polymicrobial infections show marked increase A medical group at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit has noted a marked increase in episodes of serious infection that are caused by several different bacteria appearing in the body at the same time. Writing in the Journal of the American MedicalAssociation, Daria Kiani, MD, Edward L Quinn, MD, and colleagues reported that polymicrobial bacteremia increased from 6% in 1970 to 13% in 1975 in patients with bloodstreaminfections.The importanceof this trend is indicated by a comparisonof mortality rates. In one study, 39 of 88 patients (44.5%) with polymicrobial bacteremia died, compared with 18% of those with an infection caused by only one bacteria (monomicrobial bacteremia). The multiple infection appeared most frequently in genitourinary (27%) and gastrointestinal (26%)conditions. It frequently followed invasive procedures (68%), was more common in hospitalized patients (73%), and was often associated with malignancies (25%) or cancer treatment (34%). The offending organisms most frequently found were gram-negative aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria. Factorsthat seemed to predisposea patient to polymicrobial bacteremia included obstruction of genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts with localized infection behind the area of obstruction, perforation of bowel, operation on the bowel, and
950
transurethral or suprapubic resection of the prostate. Surgery plus multiple intubationsand cannulations was also associated with the multiple infection. Malignancy with immunosuppressive or cancer chemotherapy was also important in the course of development of the disease and its high mortality. Thirty-four percent of the patientswere receivingsuch therapy before or during the polymicrobial bacteremia, in contrast to 10%of patientswith monomicrobial bacteremia.
Computer assists in dyslexia detection A computer-assistedtechnique has been developed for the early detection of dyslexia, a reading disability. Described in Computers and Medicine, brain electrical activity mapping (BEAM) allows researchers to distinguish between disorders caused by anatomical abnormalities, such as tumors, and function disorders such as dyslexia. According to Frank H Duffy, MD, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Boston, the use of objective and noninvasive methods, such as BEAM, will aid in diagnosing the condition in preschool-age children. “If children can be identified before they experience reading failure and given appropriate aids to improve their reading function, they will be better armed to cope with the disability,” Dr Duffy said.
AORN Journal, November 1979, Val 30,N o 5