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Join
the St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center Nurses
Candlelight
Vigil for
Safe
Staffing and a Fair Contract
Monday,
December 8, 2003
4:30
– 6 p.m.
Caritas
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
736 Cambridge St., Boston
Nurses and
their supporters will gather on the corner of Cambridge and Washington
Streets.
[Read
the Press Release]
[Directions]
Candles will
be provided
The registered
nurses represented by the MNA at SEMC have held 15 negotiating sessions
with Caritas management over a new contract, with a number of key issues
in dispute, including:
- Safe
Staffing -- The nurses are seeking language to guarantee safe
RN-to-patient ratios to protect patient care. Caritas SEMC has some
of the worst ratios of all the Boston teaching hospitals, with ratios
that place some patients at a significantly increased risk of injury
or even death.
- Mandatory
Overtime
-- The nurses want language to prevent the use of mandatory overtime
as a substitute for appropriate staffing. MOT is used regularly at SEMC,
including one instance where a nurse who was eight months pregnant was
mandated to work overtime. This language has been granted to unionized
nurses in a number Massachusetts’ hospitals, and was the focus
of two widely publicized strikes by nurses at St. Vincent Hospital and
Brockton Hospital. The prestigious Institute of Medicine last month
issued a report that includes a strong recommendation for the kind of
protections the St. Es nurses are seeking.
- Pension
Benefit Protection -- Caritas has demanded the right to dismantle
the nurses’ pension benefit, unilaterally changing it from a defined
benefit to a defined contribution plan as of Jan. 1st, which would result
in many nurses losing up to 30% of the value of their pension. The nurses’
pension is one of the strongest in the state, and it is a key benefit
to retaining staff needed to maintain safe patient care.
- Competitive
Wages – The SEMC nurses are paid significantly less than
the nurses at other Boston teaching hospitals, which is driving nurses
away from the facility to better paying hospitals with safer staffing
levels. The inability to recruit and retain staff further exacerbates
the poor staffing conditions.
Support
the St. E's Nurses as they Fight to Protect Patients and Their Union Rights
Directions
to SEMC
From
the West:
Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (Route 90) East to Exit 17 (Newton-Watertown).
Go straight and take the second right onto Park Street, following signs
for Brighton. Take the first left onto Tremont Street and follow for approximately
one mile until it connects to the right with Washington Street. Continue
on Washington Street for approximately one mile to the Medical Center.
From
the North:
Take I-93 South to the Massachusetts Turnpike (Route 90) West. Follow
the Mass Pike to Exit 20 (Brighton-Cambridge). Proceed through the tollbooth
and bear left towards Allston/Brighton (Cambridge Street). Follow H signs
for approximately 1.5 miles to the Medical Center.
From
the South:
Take I-93 North to the Massachusetts Turnpike (Route 90) West. Follow
the Mass Pike West to Exit 20 (Brighton-Cambridge). Proceed through the
tollbooth and bear left towards Allston/Brighton (Cambridge Street). Follow
H signs for approximately 1.5 miles to the Medical Center.
From
Downtown Boston:
Take the Massachusetts Turnpike (Route 90) West. Follow the Mass Pike
to Exit 20 (Brighton-Cambridge). Proceed through the tollbooth and bear
left towards Allston/Brighton (Cambridge Street). Follow H signs for approximately
1.5 miles to the Medical Center.
Parking
Information:
On-site parking is available at the Medical Center. Valet parking is available
at the main entrance.
Via
Public Transportation
Green
Line:
Take a B, C, or D Green Line Train to Kenmore Square Station. Go upstairs
to the bus pavilion and take the #57 bus (Watertown Square) to St. Elizabeth's.
The bus stops directly across from the Medical Center.
Boston
College B Train on the Green Line:
Take the B train to Warren Street and Commonwealth Avenue. Walk north
to the end of Warren Street. Take a left onto Nevins Street to the main
entrance of St. Elizabeth's, or, take a left onto Cambridge Street and
enter the Medical Center through the street level entrance.
Red
Line:
You have two options when taking the Red Line to St. Elizabeth's:
- Take the
Red Line to Central Square. Go to the bus stop at the corner of Western
Avenue and Green Street and take the #64 (Cleveland Circle) bus.
- Take the
Red Line to Harvard Square. Go the bus stop at the corner of Massachusetts
Avenue and Garden Street and take the #86 (Cleveland Circle) bus.
Both buses
stop at the corner of Washington and Market Streets in Brighton Center.
Get off at this stop and walk two blocks east on Washington Street to
St. Elizabeth's.
Express
Bus:
Take the Express Bus from the Financial District to St. Elizabeth's Monday
through Friday.
To confirm
bus schedules, please contact the MBTA at 617.722.3200 or at www.mbta.com.
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