As a nurse in the Catholic Health system, the last year and a half has been the most traumatic time in my career.
My colleagues and I watched patient after patient die from Covid-19. We witnessed families and loved ones say their final goodbyes over the phone or by videochat.
But it was more than being faced with constant illness and death. The pandemic also brought to light serious underlying issues at Catholic Health hospitals that put both the workers and the patients we care for at significant risk.
The hospitals in the system are understaffed in the best of times, with low pay exacerbating turnover. We reached a crisis point during the pandemic, and it has not abated.
Hospitals are desperately understaffed from nurses to dietary, technical services and cleaning employees. Hundreds of unfilled positions remain vacant. Nurses are routinely working through lunch hours and breaks because taking them might endanger the lives of patients who won’t get staff attention otherwise.
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The understaffing, low pay, long hours and missed breaks take a horrible toll on all of us and impact the level of care we can provide to patients.
Though Catholic Health publicly heralded us as “heroes,” last year, it’s becoming increasingly clear these were just empty words, as its proposed collective bargaining agreement would actually lead to less money in the pocket of an average employee and only deepen staffing problems.
Management has proposed a ridiculous 1% wage increase – despite the fact that nearly 10% of our workforce is making only $15 an hour or less – while also increasing our health care costs. The effect of these two changes would mean a pay cut of up to 10% for the average employee.
Meanwhile, Catholic Health is focusing on a new state-of-the-art hospital – without worrying about how to ensure it can adequately staff existing hospitals. It has a revenue stream of more than $1 billion, even since the pandemic. CEO Mark Sullivan brings home a hefty $1 million salary.
Their refusal to pay competitive wages and hear our cries about the dangers of understaffing will continue to put workers and our patients at risk just as the Delta variant sweeps across our state.
While Catholic Health’s negotiating position might be good for its bottom line, it’s bad for workers and patients. We are demanding a fair and equitable contract by the time our current agreement ends in September that respects health care workers and prioritizes safety and patient outcomes.
After more than a year of fighting a deadly pandemic, losing friends and colleagues and suffering unspeakable trauma, it’s time for Catholic Health to step up, put its money where its mouth is, and give health care workers and patients the resources and support that we need.
