Despite Industry-Leading Wages & Benefits for Nurses at Sutter Health, California Nurses Union Calls Holiday Strike

December 16, 2011

For more information, hospital media contacts, and the latest news on the strikes and negotiations with the California Nurses Union, please visit: http://sutterhealthblogs.org/cnanegotiations

The California Nurses Union has announced their intent to strike Mills-Peninsula and three other Bay Area hospitals affiliated with Sutter Health on Thursday, December 22. At Mills-Peninsula, striking nurses will return on Saturday, Dec. 24.

The union has also given formal strike notice at: Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Sutter Delta Medical Center, Sutter Solano Medical Center and Eden Medical Center and could issue strike notice at that hospital as well.

Mills-Peninsula’s contract with a staffing agency requires us to pay replacement nurses for a minimum of five days. In compliance with the contract, we have maintained a five-day replacement period in previous strikes because paying both regular and replacement staff doesn’t meet our affordability – or common sense – goals.

However, the union’s decision to strike during the holidays presents its own, different challenges. The staffing agency’s ability to fulfill our order depends in part on ensuring replacement nurses can get home in time for the holidays. Because of that stipulation and with respect for our non-union staff, physicians, patients and families in the holiday season, we are shortening the replacement period by one day. Replacement nurses will spend the first two days in training, provide patient care for two days and return home on Dec. 24.

Sutter Health Nurse Pay and Benefits Remain Industry Leaders
Sutter Health hospitals know that providing the very best care for our patients starts with taking good care of our nurses. A nurse who chooses to work full-time at a Sutter Health hospital that has a contract with the California Nurses Union earns:

• An average of $136,000 per year
• An employer-paid pension plan worth $84,000 per year on average in retirement
• 40 paid days off per year

A part-time nurse earns an average of $105,000 per year and receives virtually the same benefits.

What’s more, nurses across our network are respected, influential members of our health care team — many holding positions on decision-making councils related to delivering the highest levels of quality care.

Despite these generous wages and a rewarding work environment, the union is asking for new and enhanced benefits that will increase the cost of health care. The union demands:
     • Free health care for life after retirement
     • To double their current retirement benefit — even though the average Sutter Health full-time nurse earns an annual $84,000 pension for life.

The California Nurses Union is calling its second strike in less than three months. This union has called more than 100 strikes against California hospitals in the last 3 years.

It is always tough for patients and families to be in the hospital, but it’s especially difficult during the holidays. Unfortunately, the union has chosen to strike during this time.

Quality Patient Care Will Continue During the Strike
Our hospitals will take steps to preserve quality patient care in the wake of the union’s strike. Our hospitals are exploring all available options to ensure high-quality care for our patients is not interrupted.

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Mills-Peninsula Ranked as a Top Hospital in Nation by The Leap Frog Group

December 6, 2011

 Annual ‘Top Hospitals’ List Measures Hospitals for Commitment to Transparency, High Quality Care

The Leapfrog Group’s annual class of top hospitals – 65 from a field of nearly 1,200 – was announced December 6, 2011, in Washington, D.C., and included Mills-Peninsula Health Services in Burlingame, California, for the second time in two years. The announcement came at Leapfrog’s Annual Meeting where the group celebrated the five-year anniversary of its ground breaking Never Events Policy.

Accepting the award for Mills-Peninsula Health Services was Chief Operating Officer Dolores Gomez.



“The Leap Frog award requires a minimum value score of 69 or greater and Mills-Peninsula achieved a score of 83, so we are far above the threshold,” said Gomez. “It is an incredible experience to be recognized for quality, and efficiency and safety out of more than 1,200 hospitals in the nation. We are proud because receipt of this honor validates that our efforts to provide the very best care to out patients are working.”



The selection is based on the results of the Leapfrog Group’s national survey that measures hospitals’ performance in crucial areas of patient safety and quality.  The results of the survey are posted on a website open to the patients and families, the public and employers and other purchasers of health care. It is the most complete picture available of a hospital’s quality and safety.  The website is www.leapfroggroup.org.

The survey, which launched in 2001, focuses on four critical areas of patient safety: the use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors; standards for doing high-risk procedures such as heart surgery; protocols and policies to reduce medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum; and adequate nurse and physician staffing. In addition, hospitals are measured on their progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and adopting policies on the handling of serious medical errors, among other things.

The Leapfrog Group is a coalition of public and private purchasers of employee health coverage founded a decade ago to work for improvements in health care safety, quality and affordability.  The annual survey is the only voluntary effort of its kind.  More information is available at www.leapfroggroup.org.

Read the complete list of 2011 Leapfrog Top Hospitals.

 

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Alcohol, Drug Addiction Can Increase During Holidays, Says Mills-Peninsula Expert

November 21, 2011

For most people, the winter holiday season, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year, is a happy time filled with parties and gatherings with friends and family. For others, this time of year can be a time of loneliness, anxiety and depression, all of which can contribute to addiction.

“The holidays can be a time of heightened emotion about life events and memories of past events, like the loss of a spouse or another important person,” said William Glatt, M.D., Mills-Peninsula’s Medical Director of the Chemical Dependency department who brings over 30 years of experience to the program. “It can be a time of great loneliness which can kindle or increase drug and alcohol addiction.”



Based at the Mills Health Center in San Mateo, Mills-Peninsula’s Chemical Dependency Department is the only medically managed detoxification service on the San Francisco peninsula, and one of the few Chemical Dependency programs that accepts patients covered by Medicare insurance.

Mills-Peninsula Health Services’ Chemical Dependency programs include inpatient (hospital-based) and outpatient (clinical) treatment, acute detoxification, an innovative 28-day rehab program, an intensive 12-week outpatient program and a Relapse Prevention/Stabilization program to ensure participants’ success in ending drug and alcohol abuse.

How Winter Holidays Can Contribute to Addiction

Depression and substance abuse affect people of all ages. “Isolation is painful, made even more so when imagery of the Holiday season features happy gatherings of family and friends,” said Dr. Glatt. “This heightened sense of loneliness can drive a person to ‘self medicate’ with drugs and alcohol in an effort to ease their distress. Addictions spike this time of year.”

The medical consequences of drug addiction are many and often serious, including death. This makes it vital that treatment and rehabilitation be supervised by an addiction medicine physician because the impact of addiction can be life threatening. Drug abuse can provoke cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, lung disease, hepatitis and autoimmune diseases.

Symptoms of Addiction

The most common symptoms and behaviors that may indicate that someone is abusing include:

  • avoiding friends and family members
  • getting high or intoxicated on a regular basis
  • lying, particularly about if or how much they are using or drinking
  • giving up activities they used to enjoy
  • performance at work or school suffers
  • missing school or work
  • feeling depressed, hopeless or suicidal
  • getting in legal trouble

A psychiatrist or qualified mental health professional usually diagnoses substance abuse. Indicators vary depending on the substance abused, the frequency of use, and the length of time since last used.

For more information or to schedule an assessment at the Mills-Peninsula Health Services’ Chemical Dependency Program, call 650-696-4666 between 8:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, people can call between 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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Mills-Peninsula, Sutter Health Give $33,500 to Local Food Banks

November 14, 2011

Just in time for the holiday season, Mills-Peninsula Health Services and Sutter Health have given a $33,500 donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

The funds are a portion of a quarter-million-dollar donation by the Sutter Health network to 29 food banks throughout Northern California, which will help provide more than a million healthy meals to families in need.

Food banks say that monetary donations help maximize the amount of food available for the hungry – in many instances, a $1 donation can translate to over $5 worth of distributed food.

On average, every dollar donated translates to 4.5 meals provided by regional food banks. This year’s donation – made on behalf of our network’s 48,000 employees, physicians, staff and volunteers – will help provide more than 1 million meals.

“Many of our patients and neighbors are still struggling to afford healthy, regular meals,” says Pat Fry, president and CEO of Sutter Health. “We recognize that health care extends beyond the walls of our care centers. Wellness begins in our communities with a healthy meal on the kitchen table. We hope that by supporting our local food banks we can provide some comfort this holiday season.”

The Sutter Health network of care has donated $762,500 over the past three years to food banks in local communities. The donations are provided on behalf of the health care network’s 48,000 employees, physicians, staff and volunteers as an extension of Sutter’s not-for-profit mission.

Complete list of food banks which received donations from Sutter Health. 

Would you like to help? Volunteer, donate online or drop off food donations at your local food bank:

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Mills-Peninsula Helps Community with Diabetes Prevention Information and Education

November 7, 2011

Burlingame, CA — November 14 is World Diabetes Day, an international event started by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness and education on diabetes. Today, WHO estimates that more than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. Without intervention, this number is expected to more than double by 2030.

Every ten seconds, two people in the world develop diabetes and one person dies of it. In the United States, California has more new cases of diabetes each year than any other state in the nation, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

On California’s San Francisco Peninsula, Mills-Peninsula Health Services educates patients and the community year-round about diabetes risk factors and what people can do to prevent or reduce their risk of this growing trend.

On November 9, 2011, Mills-Peninsula is holding a free workshop about diabetes prevention in San Mateo. “An Ounce of Prevention: Pre-diabetes Workshop” is open to the community, and participants will learn tips for healthier eating and establishing an easy-to-follow exercise program.

Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

“Often people think they can’t make any changes, but small steps can produce big rewards in preventing type 2 diabetes,” said Donna deKay, R.D., certified diabetes educator and outpatient nutritionist at Mills-Peninsula Health Services.

Recently, a landmark three-year study of 3,234 people, called the Diabetes Prevention Program, found as little as 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, coupled with a weight loss of five to 10 percent of body weight, produces a 58 percent reduction in risk of developing diabetes. This diet and exercise approach was as or more effective than medication in slowing and preventing diabetes.

“A diagnosis of pre-diabetes is a great time to take action. We can turn back the clock,” deKay said.

Pre-diabetes

Pre-diabetes means blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Unless they take action, people with pre-diabetes are likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years. According to the ADA, 79 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes and most don’t know it. People with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a family history of diabetes are at a higher risk for diabetes.

Online Diabetes Risk Test

The ADA website offers a short Online Diabetes Risk Test to help people determine whether they are at low, moderate or high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. The test asks simple questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risks for pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. If an individual is at high risk, he or she is encouraged to talk with their health care provider.

Mills-Peninsula Honored for Diabetes Services

In October 2011, Mills-Peninsula was honored with the California Department of Managed Care’s Right Care Initiative’s gold level of achievement for meeting or exceeding standards for controlling patients’ diabetes and cardiovascular conditions to ensure their best possible health.

Also in 2011, for the ninth consecutive year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) awarded Mills-Peninsula Health Services’ outpatient diabetes and nutrition services with the ADA Education Recognition Certificate, recognizing quality diabetes self-management.

Learn more:

Diabetes education, prevention information on Mills-Peninsula Website

American Diabetes Association Website

International Diabetes Federation Website

Details, registration info on November 9 “An Ounce of Prevention: Pre-diabetes Workshop,” offered by Mills-Peninsula Health Services

 

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