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Tufts: Remaining contract issue is significant

Print | Comments () Posted by Chelsea Conaboy May 4, 2011 12:09 PM

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By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff

Tufts Medical Center management took issue with my post yesterday, which said the hospital and the nurses union are ''excruciatingly close'' to a contract agreement that would avert a strike on Friday. Even though they've whittled down their major disagreements to one outstanding issue -- whether management can require nurses on most floors to care for six patients at once -- spokeswoman Julie Jette said it's a significant issue.

Nurses typically are assigned no more than five patients now, but the hospital wants flexibility. Nurses want protection from what they believe are unsafe workloads.

"Believe me, I wish it were true that we were basically just trying to hammer out the last thing, but the last thing is the big thing," Jette said. She felt my take was overly optimistic.

The teaching hospital and the union met Monday for 20 hours and will meet again tomorrow. Meanwhile, the hospital is flying in and training replacement nurses.

"Our goal is to reach a settlement,'' said Massachusetts Nurses Association Spokesman David Schildmeier, ''but we're prepared to do what we need to do.''

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About white coat notes

White Coat Notes covers the latest from the health care industry, hospitals, doctors offices, labs, insurers, and the corridors of government. Chelsea Conaboy previously covered health care for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Write her at cconaboy@boston.com. Follow her on Twitter: @cconaboy.

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