BEND, OR -- For the first time, St. Charles Home Health and Hospice nurses will unionize. Nurse Karin Arthur tells KBND News the 85% who voted yes last week believed there was no other way, "We felt that our voices as nurses, for patients in home health and hospice, weren’t being heard by St. Charles. And, no matter how many requests and things we put into the organization, we didn’t feel our voices were being heard in the management and care of our patients; and we felt that patient safety was at risk."

They’ll be represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, although under a separate contract than St. Charles hospital nurses in Bend, Redmond and Prineville already in the ONA. In the coming weeks, Home Health and Hospice nurses will establish bylaws, "We will have to negotiate a contract on our own, just the Home Health and Hospice nurses as one bargaining unit, separate from the hospital nurses. Now obviously, we’re all part of the same overall union, so we will work together in patient care and parts of their contract that apply to home health and hospice." That contract may not be in place for another year.

The ONA says caregivers want input on local decision-making and to ensure they are treated and compensated fairly. Home Health and Hospice nurses help prevent patients from being re-admitted, which adds to an already strained system, according to the union. "We’re excited that this is going to bring reform and excellence to customer service within the home health and hospice populations. We really feel like this is what’s best for our patients," says Arthur. 

Photo courtesy of the Oregon Nurses Association