To the Editor:
If the nurses and support staff of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital decide to strike, I will stand by them. As the cost of living continues to rise, they are facing cuts to critical benefits such as healthcare, paid time off, union rights, as well as a 3-year wage freeze. In their efforts to fight for a fair contract, they deserve the support of the communities that depend on them.
It is no shock to anyone that our local hospitals are facing a financial crisis. Punishing the people who directly care for our loved-ones is not a long-term solution to the problem, and fighting the unions and hiring scab nurses will only cost the hospital more money it clearly cannot afford to lose.
To be clear, BMH healthcare workers are not the cause of the current solvency crisis. And they are certainly not responsible for the systemic inefficiencies plaguing our healthcare system nor previous failures of management. It is no coincidence that numerous hospitals around the state, and in rural areas across the country, are facing the exact same crisis. Why punish those on the front lines?
While short-term solutions may seem attractive to some, if we really want to keep BMH afloat — along with other hospitals across the state — we need a massive structural overhaul of our healthcare system. The system is broken, and tweaking individual budgets, cutting staff and services, will only harm patients and workers alike. As a nation, we spend far more money on healthcare per person and get worse results compared to other wealthy countries. Our system is fractured, inefficient, and places profit above human life.
I encourage the hospital and community members to advocate for a more humane and effective healthcare system. In the meantime, we must support the nurses and support staff in fighting for their livelihoods. If we do not support them in securing fair wages and benefits, how can we expect the hospital to retain quality nurses and staff? When we fail to compensate healthcare workers fairly, we hurt their ability to care for patients and encourage them to seek employment elsewhere. There is a petition circulating on actionnetwork.org entitled “Save Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.” I encourage everyone who cares about our hospital and healthcare workers to sign on.
Kia Cating
Jamaica, March 19