By Marvin Malek
I recently had hand surgery at CVMC. The surgery took place during one of the final negotiating sessions between CVMC’s management and the newly established nurses’ union. When I asked about it, I sensed both pride and apprehension about how the final few negotiations would go. But the nurses redirected the discussion to the various steps to get me through the surgery.
The nursing care was superb. The nurses made the day work, getting the IV started, VS checked, fluid administered, got me prepped and into the OR on time. Similarly, nurses in the Recovery Room were patient and competent, and responded appropriately to my greater than average sensitivity to sedating meds. All the nurses were at the same time serious and professional, yet light and managed to make my surgery day, well … kind of fun.
Since then I’ve given more thought to the effects of the newly established union and its impact on patient care. The presence of a nurses’ union will undoubtedly have a beneficial impact on patient care. First, nurses are invariably dogged defenders of quality care, want to do a good job with appropriate resources, and will insist on ensuring that the hospital wards are staffed with an adequate number of nurses to handle the number and illness acuity of the patients they are treating on each shift. Since the union empowers the nurses, the nurses will be better able to more effectively advocate for quality patient care. Second, nothing is more corrosive of quality care than staff turnover. A nurses’ union will work to maintain a competitive compensation package, and will protect nurses from being subjected to unfair treatment by current and future administrators. This should facilitate recruiting nurses likely to desire a long-term commitment to the hospital and the community. The union is a win for both the nurses and the community.
Thanks to my surgeon, Dr. Lutsky, and to CVMC’s nurses for the great care I received. And congratulations to CVMC’s nurses for their successful unionization effort, which will make the hospital and its nursing staff an even greater asset to our community.
Marvin Malek, MD, MPH, is a physician — and sometimes a patient — who resides in Berlin.