Paid Advertisement Kalispell Regional Healthcare Board of Trustees, We are sending this letter because you are responsible for decision making at our hospital which affects the quality of care and the health of our community. "We, the members of the nursing union leadership team, agree with the KRH hospital administration that the bargaining table is the best venue to accomplish a fair and equitable contract. However, we have been meeting at the bargaining table for 16 months and we are still far apart on many key components that would address the concerns that the nurses of KRH have brought forward, such as giving nurses a voice regarding staffing. The union bargaining team put forward the entirety of our proposals back in March of 2020. Addressing these issues will help to build a healthy working relationship between the administration and staff. Although nurses are the backbone of direct patient care, the administration treats us dismissively. The focus of administration has been on growth. While we understand that need, it is imperative administration pull their focus back to basic fundamentals, in which experience, knowledge and team cohesiveness coincide with positive patient outcomes. Since the disastrous restructuring in 2019, significant cost is going into hiring and training a record number of newly graduated nurses (nearly 50 since October 2020) and toward hiring travel nurses to fill positions on every floor that were once held by experienced and committed nurses. Many floors of the hospital are now primarily staffed by an inexperienced set of nurses who are only just beginning to find their foothold in the profession. These young nurses have the desire and education to do well, but the hospital has failed to retain adequate numbers of experienced nurses to mentor the new ones. The new nurses are our future and we need to create an environment where they, as well as more veteran nurses, will feel valued enough to stay. This begins with providing fair, competitive wages and safe staffing levels so that nurses can afford to live here and provide excellent care. Please contact the hospital administration and urge them to meet their obligation to bargain in good faith. Tell them to recognize the importance of listening to the voice of the nurses, to value the unique input and perspective of nurses, and to do what it takes to restore our once amazing hospital." Sincerely, - Douh Jessica Dahiman Rachel Cain Annette Kinsella Kim Paulsen Cindy Meyer Katruna a Rauune, pN Shannon Eve Katrina Rauthe Sarah Johns Lynette Zavodny MOves beek Amber Hewitt Aimee Abbott Marth Overbeek Donna Nelson nichale Cardon Andrea Lueck Sue Sweigart Nichole Cardoza Tara Lee Ján Mueller Cindy Hinzman Tara Lee Clay Widdekind Jared Sibbit Joan Siderius Julie Anderson Karen Rupp John Fitch Angel Garrido Jeanette Luka KathiKaemer Shannon Fitch Brooke Scullion Kathi Kraemer Luida Walla Teresa Dean Molly Wödward Lucinda Wallace SEIUHealthcare. 1199NW United for Quality Care Pid for by SU Healhcare 1199NW 15 S Grady Way 200. Renton, WA SOS7 Paid Advertisement Kalispell Regional Healthcare Board of Trustees, We are sending this letter because you are responsible for decision making at our hospital which affects the quality of care and the health of our community. "We, the members of the nursing union leadership team, agree with the KRH hospital administration that the bargaining table is the best venue to accomplish a fair and equitable contract. However, we have been meeting at the bargaining table for 16 months and we are still far apart on many key components that would address the concerns that the nurses of KRH have brought forward, such as giving nurses a voice regarding staffing. The union bargaining team put forward the entirety of our proposals back in March of 2020. Addressing these issues will help to build a healthy working relationship between the administration and staff. Although nurses are the backbone of direct patient care, the administration treats us dismissively. The focus of administration has been on growth. While we understand that need, it is imperative administration pull their focus back to basic fundamentals, in which experience, knowledge and team cohesiveness coincide with positive patient outcomes. Since the disastrous restructuring in 2019, significant cost is going into hiring and training a record number of newly graduated nurses (nearly 50 since October 2020) and toward hiring travel nurses to fill positions on every floor that were once held by experienced and committed nurses. Many floors of the hospital are now primarily staffed by an inexperienced set of nurses who are only just beginning to find their foothold in the profession. These young nurses have the desire and education to do well, but the hospital has failed to retain adequate numbers of experienced nurses to mentor the new ones. The new nurses are our future and we need to create an environment where they, as well as more veteran nurses, will feel valued enough to stay. This begins with providing fair, competitive wages and safe staffing levels so that nurses can afford to live here and provide excellent care. Please contact the hospital administration and urge them to meet their obligation to bargain in good faith. Tell them to recognize the importance of listening to the voice of the nurses, to value the unique input and perspective of nurses, and to do what it takes to restore our once amazing hospital." Sincerely, - Douh Jessica Dahiman Rachel Cain Annette Kinsella Kim Paulsen Cindy Meyer Katruna a Rauune, pN Shannon Eve Katrina Rauthe Sarah Johns Lynette Zavodny MOves beek Amber Hewitt Aimee Abbott Marth Overbeek Donna Nelson nichale Cardon Andrea Lueck Sue Sweigart Nichole Cardoza Tara Lee Ján Mueller Cindy Hinzman Tara Lee Clay Widdekind Jared Sibbit Joan Siderius Julie Anderson Karen Rupp John Fitch Angel Garrido Jeanette Luka KathiKaemer Shannon Fitch Brooke Scullion Kathi Kraemer Luida Walla Teresa Dean Molly Wödward Lucinda Wallace SEIUHealthcare. 1199NW United for Quality Care Pid for by SU Healhcare 1199NW 15 S Grady Way 200. Renton, WA SOS7