BRO submission by John Klein, President of Communications Workers of America Local 1168:
As health care workers begin contract negotiations with Kaleida Health, which owns and operates Buffalo General, DeGraff, Millard Fillmore and other major regional hospitals, quality care for our community is at stake.
We intend to make sure that Kaleida Health gives us the tools we need to do our job – making sure you receive the care you need when you need it, whether it’s an unexpected trip to the emergency room, scheduled surgery or a routine visit.
Even in tough times, Buffalo area residents deserve quality affordable health care. That level of care has enabled the health care industry to become an economic engine for our region.
Many other hospital systems around the country have de-emphasized patient care and patient safety to cut corners and save money. Kaleida has recently moved in that direction by closing clinics that provide care to those most in need, like Project Reach, the Buffalo General Eye Clinic, and now the Mattina Center. Closing or spinning off care for low-income New Yorkers must stop. We are determined to negotiate an agreement that guarantees Kaleida hospitals provide our community with accessible care, based on safe staffing practices.
Kaleida health care workers have a long, proud history of standing together to protect and strengthen the Western New York health care system.
In 2007, an Albany Commission proposed to close or downsize nine health care facilities across the state. Our region was hit hard, with Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital, DeGraff Memorial, and St Joseph’s on the closure list. We knew our patients needed these hospitals and so we organized to save them, successfully keeping DeGraff Memorial and St. Joseph Hospital open.
We looked at Erie County data on E.R. capacity and found that Millard Fillmore Gates and St. Joseph’s were already delaying patients or sending them to other emergency rooms at some point in the day an astounding 95% of the time, meaning our patients who needed immediate care were getting sent elsewhere.
Western New York health care workers and their families rallied together and walked 300 miles in January to the State Capital in Albany to pressure then-Governor Spitzer to reconsider the commission report. Without our efforts, the Commission would not have reversed its decision and kept DeGraff Memorial and St. Joseph Hospital open.
We always look for ways to improve patient care. For example, we recently persuaded Kaleida hospitals to invest in mechanical lifts, adjustable-height beds and other equipment to help avoid injuries while moving patients. That has made our patients safer, reduced the number of work days nurses lose from injuries and saved the Kaleida system millions of dollars over the last five years.
We are your nurses, your lab technicians, your clinical staff – we work in every part of the largest hospital system in our community. We will work with Kaleida management to negotiate a contract that allows the health care industry to continue providing good jobs for our community and lets us continue our passionate work of providing you with quality affordable health care.
Photo: John Klein, President of Local 1168 | Cori Gambini, Vice President of Local 1168
John Klein, President of Communications Workers of America Local
1168, started at Buffalo General Hospital in 1981 and has worked as a
Nurse’s Aide, LPN and RN.