Big Victory for RNs at HomeHealth Visiting Nurses - New Contract to Incorporate Significant New Protections for Patients Safety Standards, Nurse Rights

Registered Nurses represented by the Maine State Nurses Association have reached a tentative agreement with HomeHealth Visiting Nurses of Southern Maine and Cumberland County area that continues the recent trend of Maine nurses improving standards at medical facilities across the state.  The contract will be voted on November 26th and 27th, and is expected to pass overwhelmingly.

The nurses, therapists, and social workers covered by the agreement have won a voice in patient care procedures through the creation of a Professional Practice Committee (PPC), which will address patient care issues at the Agency.  RNs at Eastern Maine Medical Center recently won a ground-breaking contract that includes a similar provision, which is becoming a standard professional practice and patient safety tool both nationally and in Maine.  PPC’s are staff-driven committee which ensure that patient care is delivered in the interest of the patient—not the healthcare corporation.

In addition, the HHVN workers won protections to keep all nurses in the bargaining unit, despite recent rulings by the Bush labor board, and a benefits package and time-off policies that will raise them to Maine compensation standards, and allow the recruiting and retention of experienced workers for the facility.

About MSNA/NNOC
MSNA is the historical association for RNs in Maine.  In 2006, MSNA joined the California Nurses Association and its national arm, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, the nation’s fastest-growing union of direct-care nurses, representing over 75,000 members in all 50 states.  Learn more at www.NNOC.net.