tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post6049079535332572011..comments2024-03-26T00:25:34.026-04:00Comments on Not Running a Hospital: Which side are you (really) on?Paul Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17065446378970179507noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-85768523340219827282008-06-30T10:12:00.000-04:002008-06-30T10:12:00.000-04:00The voice and influence of health care safety and ...The voice and influence of health care safety and quality organizations, such as Institute of Healthcare Improvement, and of academics and insurance providers on the problem of quality of care has increased dramatically in the last decade. If union hierarchies suppress innovative quality improvement from management or from the ranks, are these organizations silent on the matter? Safety and efficiency of care are central to the Institute of Medicine's reports on hospital improvements. Are there data comparing the quality of different labor structured hospitals? Such data would reveal the ruse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-33002412053053251782008-06-30T04:24:00.000-04:002008-06-30T04:24:00.000-04:00Union interference with hospital financing isn't t...Union interference with hospital financing isn't the worst of it. I worked at a hospital where the union (1199) did everything in its power to disrupt our quality improvement initiative because it threatened their hegemony over work flow. 1199's answer to every quality issue was "hire more union workers". They prohibited union members from discussing work flow issues without union leaders present. This killed the improvement process, because union leaders prioritized preservation of union jobs, rather than quality, safety or cost. It also cut off the flow of ideas from line workers, to the detriment of the improvement initiative and worker satisfaction. Hospital management cut a Faustian bargain and allowed this to happen to the detriment of the safety of their patients. Unionization poses the greatest threat to improving the quality of the health care system. Health care needs leadership like you, Paul, with courage and vision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-47007040989482147102008-06-29T12:10:00.000-04:002008-06-29T12:10:00.000-04:00The SEIU are a despicable group. Their arrogance i...The SEIU are a despicable group. Their arrogance in health care matters are astounding. I'm curious if they were always like this??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-49581358487941089492008-06-27T21:40:00.000-04:002008-06-27T21:40:00.000-04:00Rand, you have no idea what you're talking about. ...Rand, you have no idea what you're talking about. Do you realize, this makes you and SEIU look ignorant? (I'm guessing this is <A HREF="http://tinyurl.com/5fs4u" REL="nofollow">Rand Wilson</A>.)<BR/><BR/>Anyone who reads this blog (which you apparently claim to, since you assert you know what it is) knows that it's a one-sided chorus for <B>improvement of healthcare</B>, without a whit of suppression of anyone. If you disagree, go find me a set of posts that prove your assertion.<BR/><BR/>You know, you do such an injustice to all of organized labor when you spray accusations in places where they simply don't belong. Do your homework! Like: since you assert that management here is interfering with patient care, can you tell us what the SPIRIT program is and list ten of its achievements in its first months, then say who initiated it? <BR/><BR/>Can you name which hospitals in Boston are so committed to care quality that they're posting their own error rates and openly disclosing the processes they're using to improve, for all (including competitors and all workers) to see?<BR/><BR/>Have you ever been in a hospital and undergone a procedure (central line catheterization, in my case) that you've read about on a blog, and discussed with the doctor and nurse the shared initiative that's underway to reduce infections?<BR/><BR/>If you haven't, then what the hell are you talking about?<BR/><BR/>Careful with your answer - thousands are watching. Maybe even some columnists.e-Patient Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11608258246509102466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-64784411531019052722008-06-27T21:23:00.000-04:002008-06-27T21:23:00.000-04:00Well, Rand, you did exactly as I predicted:"SEIU m...Well, Rand, you did exactly as I predicted:<BR/><BR/>"SEIU may seek to change the topic, saying this is about changing the process by which unions are certified. That is an issue that will continue to be debated. But the manner of seeking such change matters, and it matters a lot. When the union itself tries to undermine the mission of hospitals, particularly those non-profit hospitals governed by community leaders, it does so at the risk of harming those very purposes it purports to espouse."<BR/><BR/>Your comment suggests that you believe that the means justify the ends. Odd, in that this is the very kind of rationalization against which you are arguing with regard to purported management behavior.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-40011145456771157942008-06-27T21:11:00.000-04:002008-06-27T21:11:00.000-04:00The Union is certainly not on the side of patients...The Union is certainly not on the side of patients, the health care system or society in general. Attempting to kill the bond issue is an attempt to keep the hospitals from expanding, providing health care and, perhaps most important, keeping jobs from expansion. This negatively affects their own interests, the interests of other unions and the interests of the state in creating jobs!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-68672784354702585562008-06-27T16:34:00.000-04:002008-06-27T16:34:00.000-04:00This blog is a one-sided -- and predictable -- cho...This blog is a one-sided -- and predictable -- chorus for management. You are dodging the real issue: All workers must be able to make a free and fair decision about forming a union. In health care, it's especially important that management tactics don't distract anyone from providing quality care and that no scarce health care dollars are wasted by hospital management on interfering in a decision that is only up the workers to make. <BR/><BR/>Boston's hospital management has a long and sordid history of illegally interfering in union elections and of spending enormous sums of money to prevent workers from having a real voice at work. <BR/><BR/>Because of that shameful track record, SEIU's efforts are absolutely necessary. (Full disclosure: I know first hand about management's behavior because I worked as a health care organizer from 1999 to 2004.)Rand Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11689840492722816588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-74021020821862292292008-06-27T15:17:00.000-04:002008-06-27T15:17:00.000-04:00Accurate and to the point (having worked on some o...Accurate and to the point (having worked on some of these issues). I agree that it is a sad comment on the media when issues such as this do not get the public attention they deserve. Let's hope blogs such as this become more and more effective.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-2412460157879599282008-06-27T12:37:00.000-04:002008-06-27T12:37:00.000-04:00A long time ago unions were essential. In some ind...A long time ago unions were essential. In some industries, maybe they still are. But If I really cared about worker conditions, I would move somewhere else in the world. Unionization of well treated workers is a waste of everybody's time and money, MOST OF ALL the workers. Imagine having to pay dues that you know are going to politicians you may or may not support. THAT ought to be illegal.<BR/><BR/>I guess I don't trust any union in a suit and tie.<BR/><BR/>Please keep it up. Let the others sit around and let this happen like they always do. Well done.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-5090350586090204852008-06-27T10:07:00.000-04:002008-06-27T10:07:00.000-04:00What is really remarkable to me is the complete la...What is really remarkable to me is the complete lack of commentary on this topic by the other Boston hospital CEOs and healthcare players like the insurance companies, etc. Doesn't this impact them, too? I find it very strange that people seem to be so cowed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-24125770215888890912008-06-26T23:15:00.000-04:002008-06-26T23:15:00.000-04:00I unsubscribed to all MoveOn.org mailings because ...I unsubscribed to all MoveOn.org mailings because of their getting in bed with SEIU and calling them "progressive." I wrote to them clearly stating my concern - months ago - about their power tactics and the probability that any support from such a group would come with nasty demands later.<BR/><BR/>I quoted JFK's inaugural address: "remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside."<BR/><BR/>Now we hear about the "<A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/us/05labor.html" REL="nofollow">accountability fund</A>." Who would have thought the strong-arming would start now?<BR/><BR/>Obama, be very, very careful. If they'll stop at nothing to gather power (including outright lies about good organizations that actually <A HREF="http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2008/06/pipeline-to-happiness.html" REL="nofollow">live progressive values</A>), imagine whose pocket you'll be in after the election, and how uncomfortable it might get.<BR/><BR/>This scares me, actually. How eerie that in 2005 the SEIU <A HREF="http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/25/news/economy/boycott/" REL="nofollow">quit the AFL-CIO</A>... in tandem with Jimmy Hoffa Jr's Teamsters.<BR/><BR/>I've written to the Obama campaign, too. No response from MoveOn or them.<BR/><BR/>I wonder if Obama knows, and if not, who can reach him.e-Patient Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11608258246509102466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-23943788172737027842008-06-26T17:31:00.000-04:002008-06-26T17:31:00.000-04:00Thank you for your frank and gusty exposures of SE...Thank you for your frank and gusty exposures of SEIU -- and for the warnings you've given the rest of us on their playbook. As one who works in health care communications at a hospital network that has become a target of SEIU, I'm often frustrated by how little we can say and how carefully we must say it for fear of getting crosswise of the NLRB. I too am waiting for journalists to ask at what cost do they align themselves with SEIU.<BR/>Please keep it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32053362.post-8378718246282058472008-06-26T13:44:00.000-04:002008-06-26T13:44:00.000-04:00It is deeply disturbing to learn of the depths to ...It is deeply disturbing to learn of the depths to which the SEIU will sink in an effort to forward their own agenda. Their attempts to derail your financing for no purpose other than demonstrating their power reveals a contempt not only for the employers who they oppose but for the members they purport to represent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com