Nurses and hospital workers represented by the Communications Workers of America are calling out Catholic Health for what they call deteriorating conditions for employees and patients at area facilities, including Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo, Kenmore Mercy Hospital and Sisters of Charity Hospital's Saint Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga.
More than 2,500 employees are calling for a fair and equitable contract to address dangerously low staffing levels, provide fair wages and benefits and protect patient safety.
The union agreed to a one-year contract extension in August 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension expires Sept. 29 and allows only Mercy Hospital workers to strike.
Worker representatives called a new Catholic Health contract proposal "insulting," saying it would slash wages by up to 10% after inflation, lower retirement benefits and increase healthcare premium costs while failing to address low staffing levels. The union also criticized Catholic Health CEO Mark Sullivan's $1million+ annual salary and the more than $7 million paid to the company's top 11 administrators during 2019.
Catholic Health, in response, said it is "focused on delivering safe, high quality and compassionate care" and noted it leads the region "in quality, patient safety, and overall patient experience, as evidenced by the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare star ratings and independent Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades."
In a statement, the health care system said it has been in active negotiations on six new contracts covering registered nurses and select service, technical and clerical associates at the three hospitals, all of which were extended, and that union actions like Tuesday's press conference are not unusual during negotiations.
"Catholic Health and CWA leaders have worked since 2016 to develop a respectful, constructive relationship," it said. "We are disappointed by the union’s tactics today, which erode efforts we have made toward building a more trusting relationship. Our hospital leadership teams remain committed to bargaining in good faith with CWA to reach contracts that will work for all parties involved. As we go through this process, we hope we can remain focused on the issues at the bargaining table where the most productive dialogue can take place."
In related actions, the New York State Department of Health’s Public Health and Health Planning Council last week unanimously approved Catholic Health’s Certificate of Need for the new Lockport Memorial Campus of Mount St. Mary’s Hospital.
"At 60,000 square-feet, the neighborhood hospital will house state-of-the-art emergency, inpatient, imaging, and laboratory services as well as medical office space for primary care, women’s health, and specialty medical practices," Catholic Health said.
The health care system is also dealing with a data breach that impacted patients from Mount St. Mary’s and Sisters of Charity hospitals.
"The breach involved patient information, including name, date of birth, and prescription data, from files that were accessed on February 6, 2021. No other identifying information such as demographic, social security number or bank account information was included in the data breach," Catholic Health said.
CaptureRx, a third-party pharmaceutical software vendor based in Arizona, confirmed the breach on March 19 and has since notified its business partners. Catholic Health said "all policies and procedures are being reviewed and enhanced. Additional workforce training is being conducted to reduce the likelihood of a similar event in the future. To date, the investigation has found no evidence of actual or attempted misuse of this information as a result of this incident."
