DECH nursing contract dispute raises concern

Patient numbers are up, nurses are feeling the stress and an already challenged rural healthcare system is being tested. According to Roberta Alley, a registered nurse at Down East Community Hospital (DECH) in Machias, the patients ultimately are the ones who will lose. "This is more of a patient safety issue," says Alley. "Because of the lack of recruitment and retention of our nurses, we're working short‑staffed more and more every day."
A rally by DECH nurses and technicians was held in Machias on July 18 in hopes of garnering support for a new contract between the hospital administration and the nurses' union. Contract negotiations have been ongoing since October and now appear stagnant, with DECH and nursing union officials remaining steadfast in their positions.
Alley, a registered nurse for 13 years at DECH, believes the administration is not seeing the bigger picture and that ultimately it will negatively impact patient care. "The most important thing that we are trying to accomplish is to get the hospital management to understand how important our patients and our community are to the nurses and techs," says Alley. "We cannot give the care we feel should be given when we are overworked or short-staffed. Many of us are working overtime to cover shifts to make sure our patients and coworkers are supported the way they should be."
A charge nurse attached to the medical surgical unit, Alley is seeing first hand the number of patients rise. "We are seeing a higher census consistently where I personally work," says Alley. "Charge nurses are having to take huge patient loads while also trying to be there for support for their nurses on the unit and coordinate the floor of incoming and outgoing patients and all the other roles the charge nurse does. This is very difficult, personally speaking, and it has become very stressful and overwhelming."
A similar situation is also occurring at the Calais Regional Hospital (CRH) between the hospital administration and the union. One month ago, the nurses and lab technicians picketed for over two hours in an attempt to draw attention to their concerns. The Maine State Nurses Association (MSNA) is currently representing nurses and technicians at both the Machias and Calais hospitals.
Jennifer Nappi, a labor representative with MSNA, indicates talks are on hold as of now at the Machias hospital, because DECH rejected the union's last offer. "This disagreement is more than about wages, this is about the future of patient care," says Nappi. "Over the last three contracts, the nursing staff took little to no increase given the financial situation of the hospital at that time. Today, DECH is doing much better, and without any sort of incremental wage adjustments, newly hired nurses will not stay in the area for more than a year, resulting in more turnover, which by itself will eventually jeopardize patient care."
Nappi has also been vocal about the hospital's recent decision to donate the Sunrise Care Facility, a recently closed nursing home in Jonesport, to the Arnold Memorial Medical Building Society. The arrangement also included funds for renovations. "Why not sell the property and reinvest in the quality care patients deserve?" asks Nappi.
According to DECH administration officials via their spokesperson, Marketing and Communications Director Julie Hixson, the hospital is standing firm on its position. "There were no nursing staffing demands brought up before or during negotiations," says Hixson. "There are no staffing issues at DECH, and we remain committed to safe and adequate staffing. There are no unsafe staffing issues."
Hixson goes further, adding that the crux of the issue now is wages. "Our proposal did not include any decrease in benefits and did include a 1% raise in the first year," says Hixson. "This, of course, is in addition to the step‑raises that are already included in the previous contract."
Currently DECH employs over 300 people full‑time and supplements using approximately 30 part‑time workers in the day‑to‑day operation of the facility. Though the facility has struggled financially in the past, it has been reporting positive financial numbers over the last three years and also expanded its emergency department.
Steve Lail, who was appointed president and CEO of DECH by its board of directors in October 2018, and was the hospital's COO prior to the new position, believes the negotiations have been open and fair. "We feel the union has been offered a good contract, and they have chosen to reject that offer."
Calais Regional Hospital is dealing with a similar situation, though those negotiations have more to do with benefits versus wage increases. Hixson admits that since CRH reduced some of its services, DECH has seen an increase in the number of patients in those areas.
"We hope that there will be no hospital closures taking place in Washington County," says Hixson. As for other hospitals reducing services, she states, "Those patients seeking care at DECH have made our hospital more viable in the outpatient clinics and obstetrics, but it has not increased our inpatient volume or our emergency department volume."
DECH currently employs approximately 60 nurses and technicians. "Our patients appreciate us and what we do for them," says Alley. "This is a beautiful quiet rural area, and our hospital would be so much more appealing to people if they paid a competitive wage to both nurses and technicians."