A Victory for Safe Staffing in Health Care!
ABOVE: Members in action advocating for state staffing standards in health care.
UPCOMING JOINT UNION TRAINING ON STATE STAFFING LAW:
Thursday, December 14
6 – 8pm PST
Location: Virtual
Join fellow union members from UFCW 3000, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, and WSNA all across the state for this virtual training on Staffing Committees under our new Health Care Staffing Law (SB 5236).
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
Discuss the purpose and development of a team charter
Understand the key elements of the hospital staffing committee law
And articulate timelines and dates relevant to the hospital staffing committee
This training is open to all members and we hope to see you there! Please feel free to share this RSVP link with your coworkers.
NEXT TRAINING DATES:
February 2024: Training on negotiating your best possible staffing plan
Late 2024: Training on compliance and accountability through your staffing committee
MEMBER VOICES | “It’s your hospital, it’s your health care, it’s your community”: How Nurses at Providence Everett Are Fighting for their Patients During a Staffing Crisis
Listen to the UFCW 3000 Podcast episode about Providence Everett nurses and their fight for safer staffing in their contract!
BACKGROUND
On April 20, 2023, after years of advocacy from UFCW 3000, SEIU 1199NW, and WSNA members, Governor Inslee signed ESSB 5236 into law.
Video message from health care union presidents, including UFCW 3000 President Faye Guenther:
Basic Safe Staffing Bill Implementation Timeline:
SEPTEMBER 1, 2023: The state Hospital Staffing Advisory Committee has been established and will meet monthly. Among its first tasks is development of a uniform hospital staffing plan form. This committee comprises health care workers and hospital representatives.
JANUARY 1, 2024: Staffing committees must be established under the new law. These will include RNs, LPNs, CNAs,and other direct patient care staff. 50% of the voting members must be nursing staff.
JULY 1, 2024: New staffing committee charters—covering processes for meetings, attendance, electing co-chairs, reviewing complaints, etc.—must be filed with Dept of Health (DOH). Proposed staffing plans are due to hospital management.
JANUARY 1, 2025: Every hospital must submit a final staffing plan to DOH.
JULY 1, 2025: Hospitals must implement the new approved staffing plans by this date, and begin reporting noncompliance to DOH whenever they fail to meet at least 80% compliance that month.
NEWS & UPDATES
UFCW 3000 Members In the News…
2/1/23: Confluence Health nurses voice concerns over staffing and increasing burn out - KPQ
1/31/23: KMRE Radio in Whatcom County interviews Erin Allison with PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham on nurse burnout - KMRE
1/25/23: Peninsula hospitals oppose staffing legislation - Peninsula Daily News
1/20/23: Nurse Testifies in Support of Safe Staffing Bill - Scrubs Magazine
1/19/23: Washington Legislature again looks to tackle safe staffing requirements in hospitals - The Spokesman-Review
1/18/23: Editorial: Legislature must address WA nursing crisis - The Seattle Times
1/18/23: Washington's nurse ratios bill gets first hearing - Becker’s Hospital Review
1/16/23: Washington nurses push for staffing standards at hospitals - KIRO 7
1/11/23: WA Bill Addresses Understaffing for Nurses at 'Breaking Point' - Public News Service
1/11/23: Washington state bill seeks to fix nurse understaffing - Snohomish County Tribune
1/6/23: WA healthcare workers renew fight for safe staffing standards - The Stand
1/7/23: Washington healthcare workers push for new staffing laws, enforcement - KING 5
1/6/23: WA hospitals, health care unions split on best way out of staffing crisis - The Seattle Times
1/5/23: Healthcare workers head to Olympia, await passage of safe staffing standards bill - KXLY
1/5/23: Hospitals, nurses at odds over how WA lawmakers should address health care crisis - Puget Sound Business Journal
12/11/22: Editorial: Dire nursing shortage needs range of efforts, stat! - Everett Herald
11/25/22: Providence nurses complain labor shortage leaves patients at risk - Q13 FOX
11/21/22: How a Kitsap County hospital illustrates WA’s emergency care crisis - Seattle Times
11/18/22: WA lawmakers should heed nurses’ warning they are staffed too thin - Seattle Times
11/11/22: I’m The “Nurse Who Called 911” For Help With Unsafe Staffing - Here's My Story | Opinion - Nurse.org
11/4/22: At hospital where nurse called 911, 'zero candidates interviewing' for ED roles, says president Kelly Gooch - Becker’s Hospital Review
10/12/22: Faced with an overwhelmed ER, a St. Michael Medical Center nurse called 911 for help - Kitsap Sun
10/8/22: 'Shouting into the void': Records outage, short staffing cause dire scene in Kitsap's ER - Kitsap Sun
7/15/22: Providence nurses seek hazard pay from Everett amid staffing woes - Everett Herald
7/1/22: With influx of patients, Everett hospital’s ER is overwhelmed - Everett Herald
UFCW 3000 Members SPEAKING OUT
UFCW 3000 members at Providence Centralia and Providence St. Peter in Olympia are taking action through their local government to raise awareness of the impacts of the staffing crisis, and ask for support as health care workers go to the state capitol to demand safe staffing standards:
Media coverage:
As we face this staffing crisis, it is important to document and report ongoing short staffing. Find more info on our Staffing Complaint page about filing Collaborative Staffing Intervention forms with management and the union, filing DOSH complaints with L&I, and filling DOH complaints.
