Nurses Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Further Reducing Unemployment Numbers In W.Va.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, West Virginia, like most of the country, is enjoying record setting low unemployment numbers after the coronavirus pandemic. Briana Heaney sat down with Josh Sword, president of West Virginia’s AFL-CIO, and Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, to discuss two bills that would reduce unemployment benefits in the state.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, West Virginia, like most of the country, is enjoying record setting low unemployment numbers after the coronavirus pandemic. Briana Heaney sat down with Josh Sword, president of West Virginia’s AFL-CIO, and Del. Clay Riley, R-Harrison, to discuss two bills that would reduce unemployment benefits in the state.

Also, we’re in the final two weeks of the 2024 state legislative session. All bills, except for the budget bill, must be out of their chamber of origin by the end of the day Wednesday to give time to consider the bill. This is called Crossover Day.

In the House Monday, lawmakers passed bills on third reading altering the state’s definition of human trafficking and a separate bill increasing leniency over youth vaccination. Jack Walker has the story.

In the Senate, the chamber passed and advanced bills concerning marital sexual assault and unemployment benefits. Briana Heaney has the story.

Finally, it was Nursing Day at the Capitol. Bob Brunner spoke with nurses about the challenges they face, and he spoke with a leader who runs a retreat for nurses who are burned out.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

CHH Nurses Reach Contract Agreement

Following a Dec. 8 “Code Blue” call for concern, nurses and nurse practitioners at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) have reached a three-year collective bargaining agreement.

The new registered nurse contract agreement replaces a three-year contract which was in effect from Jan. 15, 2021 through Jan. 15, 2024.

There are 1,000 registered nurses at Cabell Huntington Hospital, according to Joyce Gibson the treasurer and secretary of the 1199 chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that represents the nurses.

“This agreement will reward the hard work our registered nurse members do, and

it shows that negotiations conducted in good faith can lead to a contract that is

beneficial to workers, the hospital, and the community,” Gibson said. “By standing together, our members were able to secure wage increases and health insurance benefits in all three years of the contract and preserve quality care and services for our patients and visitors.”

According to a press release, members of CHH leadership and SEIU 1199 negotiating committees joined together in good-faith negotiations for three days this week to finalize a contract that is beneficial for all involved.

“The health care environment has undergone significant changes in recent years,” Tim Martin, Chief Operating Officer, CHH said. “To best build transparency and collaboration, we listened carefully to learn what truly mattered to the negotiating committee and our nurses, then focused on meeting those needs and enhancing our position as an employer of choice in the region. By doing that, we were able to find common ground and reach a mutually

beneficial agreement. I commend all members of the negotiation teams for their professionalism and commitment to the process.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Union Nurses Call “Code Blue” For Understaffing At Cabell Huntington Hospital

Union members at Cabell Huntington Hospital are calling for “code blue” attention to be paid to its understaffing issues.

Nurse and Nurse Practitioners at Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH) are asking for the community’s support for dignity, respect and fairness for all employees at the facility.

Joyce Gibson is the union representative who represents 1,000 registered nurses at Cabell Huntington Hospital. She is the treasurer and secretary of the 1199 chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

SEIU announced Friday that they would hold a press conference calling for a “CODE BLUE” level of concern over unsafe staffing levels and the concern of retention. The chapter claims there are currently more than 200 Registered Nurse vacancies at CHH.

Gibson said the chapter has provided staffing ratio proposals to CHH that continually get rejected.

“They have out-of-state travel nurses working at the hospital versus rather than invest in the current nurses who work there,” Gibson said.

Aside from staffing shortages and mandatory overtime, the Registered Nurses at CHH might struggle to afford their own health insurance.

“The turnover rate is, you know, astronomical right now, and they are severely bleeding nurses on an astronomical rate,” Gibson said. “Part of that is mostly due to they have increased their health care premiums at the hospital for the nurses. Some of the nurses can’t even afford the health care premiums that they’re proposing right now.”

SEIU will continue negotiations with CHH on December 14 and 15.

“As of right now, we go back to negotiations next week on the 14th and 15th. We’re going to continue to bargain in good faith and hope that the employer recognizes the major issues that the nurses have,” Gibson said.

However, Gibson said she does not have hope for the success of these negotiations, citing the repeated rejections of previous proposals to the hospital.

“This contract will expire on January 15 and at some point, these nurses will be taking a strike vote in terms of whether or not to strike at this hospital over these issues,” Gibson said.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

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BridgeValley Nursing Students Receive Financial Assistance For Daily Expenses

Nine nursing students will receive money for day-to-day expenses with support from the WVU Medicine Aspiring Nurse Program.

On Aug. 15, nine students from BridgeValley Community and Technical College were accepted into the WVU Medicine Aspiring Nurse Program, which provides each student with up to $25,000 to support their day-to-day expenses as they attend school.

Dr. Greg Rosencrance, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals said this inaugural cohort shows the organization’s commitment to nursing careers.

“We strive to be the best place to receive healthcare and also the best place to work in healthcare,” Dr. Greg Rosencrance, president and CEO of WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals said. “This program is a reflection of our health system’s commitment to our nurses and works to provide a foundation for a successful nursing career.”

Each student accepted into the program will receive their funds over four semesters, including a sign-on bonus in exchange for a three-year work commitment following graduation.

Casey Sacks, Ph.D., president of BridgeValley, said this initiative aims to address the financial challenges faced by nursing students by creating a pathway for them to excel in education and career.

“By offering financing support and recognizing the real challenges faced by nursing students, this program will help alleviate the financial stress students often experience while they are studying,” Sacks said.

Students accepted to the program will also receive support from academic success coaches and complete clinical rotations at Thomas Hospitals to ensure they receive hands-on clinical immersion experiences to assist them as they transition to professional nursing practice.

BridgeValley Community and Technical College was selected as one of the first two community colleges to participate in the program, which was made possible by the partnership between WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals and BridgeValley.

For more information on the WVU Medicine Aspiring Nurse Program, visit WVUMedicine.org/Aspiring-Nurse-Program.

Legislators Hear Update On State’s Effort To Address Nursing Shortage

Legislators have tried to help address the state’s nursing shortage, but one of their actions may have had an unintended consequence.

Senate Bill 518 became law in March of this year and aimed to update and streamline state code relating to registered nursing.

As members of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability heard Tuesday, one provision that removed the licensure fee for RNs and APRNs has had an unintended consequence on the state’s nursing education.

West Virginia Center for Nursing Administrator Jordyn Reed said the licensure fees accounted for 75 percent of the organization’s revenue and threatened the state’s nursing scholarship programs.

“The West Virginia Nursing Scholarship Program, about 75 to 80 percent of our revenue goes to this program,” she said. “So losing that funding via SB 518 is going to affect this program, we’re not going to be able to continue it without additional funding.”

Reed said the program is one of the most successful because recipients are required to complete a service obligation in the state, and as of August 2020, 88.7 percent of service obligation completers still maintain an active West Virginia nursing license.

Dr. Cynthia Persily, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences at the Higher Education Policy Commission, said a line item for the Center for Nursing’s annual budget of $500,000 was already submitted to the governor’s office.

She also outlined a restructuring of the Center for Nursing.

“The legislation that we will propose will be to repeal the section of code that created the West Virginia Center for Nursing because it creates it as a separate state agency, and then bring some of that language over into the appropriate part of higher education,” Persily said.

Reed also highlighted the state’s nursing academy model that exposes middle and high school students to nursing careers by bringing them to health care facilities in schools of nursing. In 2022, there were seven academies across the state serving more than 200 students.

“This is a pipeline program, the only one that is nursing specific in the state,” Reed said. “There’s mentoring, there’s career shadowing, and there’s hands-on activities to get kids excited about nursing.”

Persily also highlighted a nurse recruitment program held over the summer, inspired by the West Virginia Ascend Program, that enticed out of state nurses with a relocation bonus.

“It was to bring nurses from out of state to West Virginia,” she said. “In a very short period of time, May through September, we brought in 102 nurses from out of state to move to West Virginia and pledge to work in West Virginia.”

Two W.Va. Nurses Pass Away From COVID-19

Two nurses have passed away in West Virginia due to COVID-19 — the first nurses to do so in the state — and this comes after healthcare workers pushed for better working conditions.

A nurse who worked for Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, Jeannette Williams Parker, passed away Sept. 30, according to a West Virginia Nurses Association press release. An unnamed second nurse also passed away who worked at Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital in Huntington, a state run psychiatric ward, according to an announcement made at Gov. Jim Justice’s Wednesday press conference.

“This was one of ours, and we are deeply saddened,” Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Crouch said.

This comes after Bateman Hospital employees picketed for better working conditions in early September. The unionized employees argued the hospital is understaffed and overworked. Bateman primarily serves short and long-term patients with psychological disorders.

As of Sept. 16, 213 nurses had passed away nationwide from COVID-19, according to National Nurses United, the largest nurses union in the country. The union cites the federal government’s slow response to providing health care workers with proper personal protective equipment.

Shortages of protective equipment were reported all across the country through mid-summer. Communities across West Virginia formed coalitions to hand make and deliver face masks to local healthcare facilities, although handmade face masks are not equivalent to medical grade N-95 masks.

West Virginia’s National Guard now has a six-month supply of PPE and has reported no significant shortages.