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JWT INSIDE HEALTH CARE NEWSLETTER

Week of March 5, 2010
*California
Union votes allowed at over 30 healthcare sites
The National Labor Relations Board has cleared the way for union elections at more than 30 healthcare facilities in Northern California, while withholding judgment on requests for union elections at another 30 or so. Nearly all of the elections are decertification ballots stemming from a bitter dispute between two rival healthcare unions: the massive Service Employees International Union, and the rival upstart National Union of Healthcare Workers whose leadership is composed of ousted SEIU leaders.  The NUHW has filed dozens of petitions in the past year to have workers decertify their SEIU units and switch to NUHW. The new group has had a handful of election successes, but most of its petitions have been blocked procedurally by SEIU through charges filed with the national labor board. On Tuesday, the NLRB approved 31 election petitions for workers at up to 50 different facilities in coming months, but another 32 election petitions are still being blocked by objections from SEIU or NUHW. In dueling news releases Tuesday, both unions accused their opponents of attempting to cherry-pick elections where they think their chances are better, while blocking elections at facilities where they might be vulnerable. (Modern Healthcare’s Daily Dose, 03/03/10)

*California
Fremont-Rideout to cut 185 jobs in consolidation
Fremont-Rideout Health Group will lay off 185 non-nursing employees and move most services out of Fremont Medical Center by May 1, with officials saying a combination of lower patient volume and severe downturns in reimbursements for care are to blame. The 185 employees are included among those who are not registered nurses, meaning they cover every department from those working in the laboratory and management to housekeeping and records. Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville will become home for most of Fremont-Rideout's health services, with only women's health and imaging remaining at Fremont in Yuba City. The move will mean about 90 nursing positions will be eliminated at Fremont; under union rules, those affected at Fremont will have to formally re-apply for 115 nursing jobs at Rideout.  Feather River Surgery Center will continue to operate in Yuba City for outpatient surgeries. Hospital officials began informing employees of the layoffs Monday.  Laid-off workers will be eligible for up to 12 weeks of severance pay depending on the length of their employment, all unpaid paid-time off and two months of continued employee benefits, such as health care. (Appeal-Democrat, 03/01/10)

*Delaware
AstraZeneca to lay off 550 in Wilmington
AstraZeneca announced plans to lay off about 550 workers in research and development at its U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, Del. The job cuts will occur over the next two years and are part of the job reduction plan outlined by the pharmaceutical company in January, which set a goal of eliminating 15,000 positions over the next five years. AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), based in London, has about 4,500 workers in Delaware, at the U.S. headquarters site and at a manufacturing plant in Newark. Company officials said the Wilmington site will no longer conduct early-stage drug-discovery research, but it will continue to be involved in late-stage global medicines development. (Philadelphia Business Journal, 03/02/10)

*Texas
Nurses find job hunt easy
Twenty December 2009 graduates from the College of Nursing at the Texas A&M Health Science Center became registered nurses and have already secured jobs.  (The Eagle, 02/25/2010)

RECENTLY PUBLISHED
Nurses salary survey
When ADVANCE for Nurses readers completed the 2009 online salary survey study, their responses reflected the continuing impact of the grim national economy on family finances. A little over half of the nurses surveyed said their overall family financial picture changed due to changes in the job market within the past 12 months. When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and nurses are a pragmatic group who understand the realities of life. Twenty-seven percent of all respondents picked up additional hours or an extra job, 3 percent delayed retirement, 6 percent held off on a planned decrease in work hours and 8 percent decided to wait awhile before going back to school. Fifty-nine percent of the nurses surveyed said they'd had a change in salary over the past year, and 84 percent of those nurses said their salaries went up. The increases weren't huge - 31 percent of all nurses said they got a raise less than 3 percent and 16 percent got a boost between 3 percent and 5 percent. On the other hand, 9 percent of nurses surveyed saw a drop in salary, generally because of a demotion, salary reduction or loss in differential.  In addition, nurses hunkered down to wait out the economic storm; only 12 percent stopped working over the past year, and almost half of those nurses did so because of a planned leave such as family leave. More than a third of the respondents said their work plans had changed because of the economy. Three percent of total respondents delayed their retirement, 6 percent delayed plans to decrease work hours and 8 percent delayed going back to school - a total of 17 percent of the nurses surveyed. Survey results are based on responses from 1,794 participants who completed our online survey, which was posted on the ADVANCE for Nurses Web site from Sept. 14-Dec. 1.  Complete results are available on the ADVANCE for Nurses Web site.  (ADVANCE for Nurses,  03/01/10)

New study highlights social media use among nurses
A recent study conducted by Nicholson Kovac, Inc. reveals some surprising findings about new media, including social media, use among nurses and physicians. Most are using their mobile phones for texting, and other applications for both personal and professional reasons. Additionally, the Internet is a key tool for them for healthcare and academic research-related information and as knowledge of social networking sites grows, a majority of healthcare professionals plan to use these sites in the future for professional development reasons. Eighty seven percent of the nurses surveyed access the Internet for business/professional reasons.
·Those who use their mobile phones or PDAs for business list “texting” as the number one application, followed by e-mail and accessing the Internet.
·Approximately 83% of those surveyed access web sites for information related to healthcare and 41% specifically look at manufacturers’ web sites for information on products and services.
·Eleven percent of nurses are using Twitter and 77% have visited Facebook. Nearly a quarter also have visited LinkedIn.
·Sixty five percent of nurses plan to engage in social media in the future for professional development reasons.
·Those who access blogs do so primarily for education and professional development.
A companion study of new media usage among physicians showed similar results. Like nurses, texting, e-mail and accessing the Internet are the top uses among doctors. When it comes to social networking sites, 88% have visited Facebook and 16% indicate they are using or have visited Twitter. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed spend more than 20 hours per week online. (NEWS-line for Healthcare Professionals, 02/25/10)

 

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