A similar poll last year found 69 percent of Rhode Islanders favored a $15 minimum wage for care providers.
“It’s dignity,” said Vicky Mitchell, a certified nurse assistant in a video released with the poll question. “You don’t wanna get sick and old, and nobody’s there to take care of you.”
The poll showed 63 percent of Republicans surveyed supported raising the minimum wage for nursing care providers to $15 an hour with 26 percent opposing. It’s unclear how many Republicans were polled. 350 Rhode Islanders were polled.
The poll was question was released to coincide with a House Finance Committee hearing on a bill that would raise wages for nursing care providers. It’s sponsored by Providence Rep. Scott Slater and Sen. Gayle Goldin.
The video is the second the SEIU has produced as it fights for a $15 minimum wage in Rhode Island.
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“These workers are fighting for a fair shake,” said Mike Araujo of RI Jobs With Justice, “not just for themselves but for everyone that cares for our family members when they need help.
Last year Bannister House workers helped save the historic nursing home from being closed down. Bannister House was founded in 1890 as a “Home for Aged Colored Women” in Fox Point to provide care for African-American women, many of them retired domestic servants.
Today workers are demanding a living wage and affordable benefits. The workers are unionized under SEIU 1199.
]]>A strong majority of Butler Hospital workers from three units collectively voted to join District 1199 SEIU New England this week. Patient Assessment Service (PAS) Intake Coordinators, Clinical Access Specialists, and Unit Secretaries voted 59-6 in the union election.
These groups of workers joined nearly 400 existing members at Butler including RN’s, LPN’s, Mental Health Workers, Clinical Information Specialists and Housekeepers who have been in 1199 SEIU for several years.
The new union members are now united to provide a strong voice for patients, families, and staff to make quality care at the hospital even better.
Butler Hospital is part of the Care New England health care system.
[From an 1199 SEIU press release]
]]>One of the largest parts of the agreement is a $250,000 investment by the state to establish a jointly administered training and professional development fund. This program will help to improve the quality of care and early learning delivered by care providers. Those who are part of CCAP will also receive their first reimbursement rate increase since 2008.
“We have taken a big step forward in making it easier for working parents to find quality child care options in their communities that meet their work schedules,” SEIU District 1199NE Executive Vice President Patrick Quinn said. “All workers deserve a living wage and this historic agreement shows that Rhode Island is ready to recognize and live up to the value of the important work of our early educators.”
RI KIDS COUNT data shows that more than 70 percent of Rhode Island children under the age of six have parents who work, and are in child care at least part time. The Department of Human Services also reported that CCAP served approximately 5,800 families and 9,400 families in July 2015.
“Investing in our kids, and the systems that care of them, is essential to ensure everyone has an opportunity to make it in Rhode Island,” Governor Raimondo said. “Providing quality, affordable child care removes a critical barrier to getting and keeping a job for many of our hardworking families, improves the development of our kids and prepares them for success in the classroom. I am pleased that we have reach an agreement with SEIU to enhance our commitment to high quality child care and support working families.”
]]>A recent poll conducted by Fleming and Associates found that 69% of Rhode Islanders support paying a living wage of $15 per hour for frontline workers in nursing homes and community based agencies caring for those with developmental disabilities. Copies of the poll results will be available at the event.
Caregivers have an important voice and perspective in the current debate about improving Medicaid funded long term care system in Rhode Island. Frontline health care workers provide compassionate care and in many instances play the role of family for their residents and clients; despite this many CNA’s and Direct Care Staff are not earning enough to support their own families.
A 2013 analysis using survey data from a nationally representative sample of 1174 nursing homes demonstrated that nursing homes with high CNA turnover had more than triple the odds of resident pain, and approximately double the odds of both pressure ulcers, and urinary tract infections. Also, a Kaiser Family Foundation report suggests that improving staff-to-resident ratios and reducing turnover is one strategy to assist in lowering avoidable re-hospitalizations.
While Rhode Island spends a comparable amount on Medicaid as Connecticut and Massachusetts, compensation for caregivers lags behind our neighbors (see chart below). Many health care workers in Rhode Island are joining the growing national #Fightfor15 campaign demanding a living wage of $15.
]]>“Trying to provide for them on $13 an hour is not easy,” she says in the latest Caregivers Rising video from the SEIU 1199NE, the labor union that represents 4,000 health care workers in Rhode Island and is advocating for a $15 minimum wage. “Certain bills I have to push back, maybe a month or two. It just seems like I’m not balancing everything with the pay that I have, it’s just not enough.”
The video series is timed to coincide with local political efforts to make structural changes to Medicaid that could affect front line health care workers like Ward.
“It’s time that our society shows that we truly value the work that our caregivers do each day,” said SEIU 1199NE Executive Vice-President Patrick J. Quinn. The compassionate care they provide needs to be recognize by the state and employers in the form of a living wage.”
He added that health certified nurse assistants in Rhode Island like Ward earn on average less than her counterparts in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
]]>Bannister House, the financially-struggling, 125-year-old nursing facility in Providence known for its history of progressive care, took a major step back towards solvency this week when the state Department of Health allowed it to start accepting new residents again.
“Bannister can currently continue to admit new patients,” said DOH spokeswoman Christina Batastini, “as long as they disclose to the prospective resident and his/her family that the facility is in receivership.”
Bannister House went into receivership April 7. Last week employees launched an effort to win public support for the financially-struggling nursing facility. Receiver Richard Land recommended to DOH that Bannister be able to accept new patients and DOH agreed this week.
The decision won the approval of Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. “The ability to admit new residents helps put Bannister House on a path to solvency and is a very welcome development in our community effort to preserve an agency of great value and historic significance to the residents of Providence,” Elorza said in a statement.
And Bannister House staff was also encouraged by the news.
“Residents, family members, co-workers, and members of the community are very optimistic that we can save Bannister House,” said, Naomi Correia, a CNA for 24 years at Bannister. “For generations Bannister House has provided long term care to our community and we cannot afford to see it close.”
Bannister House was opened in 1890 as a retirement home for elderly African American women, many of whom were house servants who had no family to care for them. The facility was renamed after its benefactor Christiana Bannister, of whom there is a bust at the State House.
]]>Bannister House has been providing forward-thinking care since April 16, 1890, when it opened as a facility for former African American domestic servants who often had no one else to care for them. To this day, according to its website, “Bannister House promotes health and well being to all who require long term care, with optimum dignity and respect, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disabilities, or age. Our Friendly, progressive and well trained staff are here to make your stay a safe and comfortable one.”
But providing this kind of care isn’t easy, or cheap. And on April 7 of this year, the long-running elder-care facility filed for receivership. The future for the facility, its 80 residents and 125 staffers, is unknown.
But there’s still hope it won’t close.
“Not if we can help it,” said Shirley Lomba, a CNA who has worked at Bannister House for 13 years.
On Thursday – exactly 125 years to the day after Bannister House first opened in Providence – employees, supporters, activists and elected officials will lead a march to the State House in an effort to keep the long-running elder-care provider operational.
“We are working really hard with community leaders, faith leaders, the whole community to keep it open,” Lomba said. “We need the help of city and state leaders. People need to come together with a plan.”
The action begins at Bannister House, 135 Dodge St., at 3pm. From there they march to Smith Hill, where they will lay flowers at the feet of a State House statue of Christina Bannister, the facility’s namesake.
Here’s more on the history of Bannister House, from its website:
Bannister began in the Meeting Street Methodist Church by a group of citizens concerned about the living conditions of elderly black women.
Mrs. Christiana Bannister, wife of well known African American landscape artist Edward Bannister, enlisted the aid of donors to support their cause. Land on the East Side of Providence was donated by the Shephard family.
On April 16, 1890, a three story building was opened with 12 residents, and so began the Home For Aged Colored Women. They succeeded in establishing a home that provided care for those who were no longer able to care for themselves.
To honor one of our founding members the name was changed to Bannister House.
And here’s more information from an SEIU press release:
]]>Health Care Workers & Supporters March to Save Bannister House
Call for Action to Maintain Long-Term Care Facility in Providence’s West End
Exactly 125 years from its founding date, Bannister House employees – along with residents’ family members, community and elected leaders – are marching to the State House in an effort to preserve long-term nursing care in one of Providence’s lowest-income areas. Supporters will then hold a peaceful ceremony near the bronze statue of Christiana Bannister on the second floor of the State House.
WHO: Over 100 health care workers (including RNs, CNAs, Med Techs, and more), residents’ family members, community members, and political leaders.
WHAT: March to Save Bannister House and Keep Quality Long-Term Care in the Community
WHEN: Thursday, April 16th, 2015 at 3pm
WHERE: Begins at Bannister House on 135 Dodge Street in Providence. Ends at Christiana Bannister Statue on 2nd Floor of State House (near Senate chambers).
The event will have strong audio and visuals (including health care workers marching in scrubs and laying flowers at the foot of the Bannister Statue). Workers will be available for interview.
More Background:
On April 16, 1890, a group of concerned citizens led by Christiana Bannister opened the “Home for Aged Colored Women” in Fox Point to provide long-term care to African-American women in Providence, many of whom were retired domestic servants who had no family of their own to care for them. The facility was later renamed in her honor, and in 1974, Bannister House relocated to the West End on land donated by Ebenezer Baptist Church, in a building constructed around the church’s original chapel. To learn more about Bannister House’s history visit www.bannisterhouse.org/history.htm
On April 7, 2015, Bannister House went into receivership. There are almost 130 Bannister employees, the vast majority of whom live in Providence, who provide experienced and compassionate care to about 80 Bannister residents.
Corporate management decisions by Care New England are hurting quality care, patient satisfaction, and the Rhode Island economy – and damaging the stellar reputation that Women & Infants has built up over decades.
WHEN: Thursday, January 15th, at 3:30 p.m.
WHERE: Women& Infants Hospital, 101 Dudley Street, Providence, Rhode Island
More Background: Management at Care New England, led by CEO Dennis Keefe, has focused their efforts on expanding the Care New England network by affiliating with and sinking money into new facilities. However, patient satisfaction and staff morale at the hospital are down, due to a lack of investment in staff and quality care.
Since 2011, the hospital has consistently brought in out-of-state “Traveler Nurses” instead of hiring local nurses for permanent jobs. These temporary travelers, who are unfamiliar with the hospital, have likely driven down patient satisfaction and quality outcomes.
According to the independent patient-satisfaction auditing agency Press Ganey, patient satisfaction has generally been down since Keefe took over in 2011. Yet despite these worsening outcomes, CEO pay is up. In 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, Keefe made $1,049,426 in total compensation.
Keefe’s decisions to sink money into expanding the network, refusal to hire more permanent local staff, and million dollar salary have all come at the cost of reinvesting in the hospital and achieving high quality outcomes for patients.
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