[T]he Green Mountain Care Board won’t delay approval of University of Vermont Medical Center’s fiscal year 2019 budget despite ongoing labor strife at the hospital.
The union representing 1,800 nurses at UVM Medical Center last week asked the board to not approve the hospital’s spending plan until they have ratified a new contract that “ensures safe staffing and quality patient care.”
But Kevin Mullin, the chair of the Green Mountain Care Board, says officials will be taking a “business as usual” approach to UVM Medical’s budget deliberations in spite of protests expected at the hospital’s public hearing before the board later this week.
“The hearing is not the final say,” Mullin said Monday. “We’ll make a (budget) decision in mid-September. A written decision must be issued by Oct. 1, and it will be.”
The Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals’ last contract with the hospital expired July 9. Nurses went on a 48-hour strike three days later.
Wages and staffing have been obstacles to a new agreement.
The union says nurses are not paid enough and the hospital is inadequately staffed as a result. That has led to nursing burnout, safety concerns and long patient wait times, the union has argued.
Hospital administrators say their vacancy rate is on par with other facilities as health care providers statewide struggle with staffing shortages. They also have labeled their salary offer “fair and competitive.”
After the latest negotiating session ended on Saturday, hospital leaders said their offer had increased to an average 15 percent base salary increase over three years, including annual step increases. That’s up from 13 percent previously.
The hospital’s offer features bigger increases for some nurses depending on job category. It also includes a minimum 10 percent wage hike for nurses who have reached the top of the pay scale and are no longer eligible for step increases.
“We are hopeful this fair and competitive offer will receive the support of our nurses so we can bring this process to a successful conclusion,” said Eileen Whalen, president and chief operating officer of UVM Medical.
The union had been asking for a 23 percent salary increase over three years. That’s come down by 1 percentage point, and union leaders said after Saturday’s session that they have been “making some headway at the bargaining table.”
“Hospital administrators say publicly they want an agreement that values its nurses and compensates them fairly. We are holding them to that in negotiations,” the union said in a prepared statement. “With executive compensation packages over $2 million, we know (the hospital) can afford to fairly pay the people who are at the bedside, providing the high-quality care the hospital prides itself on.”
That was a reference to recent federal filings showing that Dr. John Brumsted, who is chief executive officer of UVM Medical and the two-state UVM Health Network, took home $2.1 million in compensation in 2016.
The timing of the labor dispute – and UVM Medical’s disclosure of executive pay – coincides with the Green Mountain Care Board’s review of proposed hospital budgets for fiscal 2019. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1 for hospitals.
The board is holding a series of public hearings on those budgets. UVM Health Network’s presentation is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Burlington City Hall, and the nurses’ union is expected to have a presence there.
The union has said the board, when reviewing hospital budgets, must consider issues like “enhancing the patient and health care professional experience of care” and staff recruitment and retention.
As hospital budget hearings opened on Monday morning, Mullin said the board already has received hundreds of public comments.
“We’ve also fielded some calls from legislators and others, asking about what will transpire on Wednesday (for UVM’s hearing),” Mullin said. “What will transpire is business as usual for the Green Mountain Care Board. The hearing will proceed, as usual.”
While the outcome of the nurses’ contract situation could have an impact on the hospital’s budget, Mullin said hospitals are allowed to manage their finances during the year to adjust for “different events.” Hospitals also can come back to the board mid year, if necessary.
“Hospitals do have the ability to manage their own budgets,” Mullin said. “We’re looking at a larger picture. We wish both sides good luck and want to have the best possible workforce and health care in the state of Vermont. But we also want to keep health care costs under control.”
Mullin also said board members are no strangers to public protest. Most recently, picketers marched Vermont Health Connect insurance rate hikes prior to a care board public meeting in July.
“We expect on Wednesday that it will be a little bit awkward going in. As I understand, there’s going to be a lot of people picketing out front,” Mullin said. “That’s OK. We’re used to that.”
