Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – Nurses from The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle have had little success getting hospital officials to listen to their concerns, despite the extension of their contract from mid-June to July 3. During a June 16 meeting at Slopes, nurses expressed their frustration with TAMC officials not considering their proposal. The nurses, members of the Maine State Nurses Association, Local 7631, are concerned about low wages affecting the quality of care patients receive.
“It is time to bring the TAMC RNs into the 21st century. They (the nurses at TAMC) are still being paid the same wages Eastern Maine Medical Center RNs received in 1998,” said Holly Sue Dobson, a registered nurse at TAMC and president of the Maine State Nurses Association Local Chapter.
Dobson was one of several nurses who took part in the June walk in downtown Presque Isle to bring awareness to the nurses’ plight at the hospital. Since that time, nurses have continued to spread awareness, collecting letters of support and subsequently delivering them to TAMC officials. A small team of both union members and union officials delivered copies of 338 letters of support from the community to two TAMC trustees, Larry LaPlante and Peter St. John. Both men were credited with acknowledging the nurses’ efforts and plans were made to share the documents with other board members.
Dobson indicated the nurses want what’s best for their patients, which follows the hospital’s vision statement.
“Nurses at TAMC are committed to the hospital’s vision statement of ‘being the best rural healthcare organization in America.’ TAMC and MSNA/NNOC nurses have been bargaining their contract for over a month now. The major concerns are patient care, nurse practice issues and compensation that will address the chronic the chronic short staffing at the hospital,” stated Dobson.
Major points include:
• A Professional Practice Committee run by bedside nurses to have true input regarding patient care and safety issues; and
• Language that will prevent the hospital from implementing new technology that replaces nurses’ expertise at the bedside.
The union is seeking to update the pay scale at TAMC so that nurses would receive pay comparable to the pay scale at EMMC in 2004.
The next contract meeting is scheduled for July 2. The group planned a candlelight vigil in downtown Presque Isle Tuesday evening, July 1, continuing the nurses’ efforts to draw public attention to the need for better conditions for nurses at TAMC. According to Chapter 7631’s Web site, www.countynurse.org, TAMC is currently facing a nursing shortage, with openings either remaining unfilled or staffed by traveling nurse programs that end up costing the hospital more money than hiring local health care providers. The Web site noted that TAMC is even losing nurses to Cary Medical Center, with the recent resignation of an RN with 13 years at TAMC who left to take a better-paying job at the Caribou facility.
“The management team at TAMC is not listening. We need the support of the community. We need your help to get them to listen,” said Dobson.
Dobson said nurses don’t want to strike but options are dwindling as the days pass.
Efforts to reach hospital officials for comment were unsuccessful at presstime.
To express concerns regarding nursing conditions at TAMC, contact: David Peterson, president and CEO of TAMC, at 768-4015. Or contact any of the Board of Trustees: Carl Flora, chairperson; Larry LaPlante, vice chairperson; Peter St. John, secretary; Joe Lallande, treasurer; Betty Kent-Conant; Mike Kelley; Barry McCrum; Tim Doak; Dr. Daniel Fowler; Dr. Luis Jimenez; Lehrle Kieffer; Alan Landeen; Lynn Lombard; Gene Lynch II; and Brett Varnum.
