October 2026 Newsletter

Hello all, 

Welcome to your October Newsletter!

• Jobs protected from Care XM
• New Technology announced
• Steward Spotlight on April and Mack
• Remember to vote!

Upcoming Events:

• 11.3.26 - Election Day, ballots due
• 11.19.26 - WSNA Food Drive – Evergreen Cafeteria -details TBD
• 12.1.26 - WSNA Steward Training – details TBD
• 2.4.27 Lobby Day WSNA Lobby Day - WSNA

WSNA Nurses Win! Effects Bargaining for EHCS Care XM Completed

Evergreen leadership planned to replace the current answering service assisting Home Health and Hospice Nurses triage with something called Care XM. Care XM is a remote nursing service staffed by nurses from outside of Washington. WSNA learned that Care XM would be doing triage assessments and giving nursing advice, potentially taking work from WSNA nurses and eventually outsourcing our jobs. WSNA Demanded to Bargain the Effects of Care XM. WSNA Officers Theresa Blazer, Emily Barnes and WSNA Staff met with management to bargain. After 2 sessions, we agreed on the MOU found here: CAREXM-LLC-MOU-2026.pdf

Key Points:

1. No Replacement of Evergreen Health WSNA RNs
2. Care XM is to be used solely as an answering service to supplement expedited care of patients. They then relay the message to our Triage nurses.
3. Care XM RNs are not to engage in any direct or indirect clinical care.
4. WSNA RNs utilizing the Care XM platform for documentation will receive training on this system.
5. Required equipment will be provided by EvergreenHealth.
6. There will be ongoing review of the Care XM platform and processes at the quarterly EHCS Conference Committee Meeting.
7. Client Data and Data Security - there will be compliance with applicable WA State laws and regulations.

This is a clear win for the bargaining unit and one we are very proud to relay to you.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about the MOU or its implementation, please message WSNA Nurse Representative Janet Stewart, jstewart@wsna.org

Evergreen Healthcare Innovations and Technology Changes; Effects Bargaining to Follow

Evergreen leadership informed WSNA they will pilot a virtual nursing program, implement cameras to augment "smart room technology" and implement an AI tool to aide with charting. While Evergreen assures WSNA the new technology will not replace WSNA Nursing work., WSNA issued a Demand to Bargain the effects of these changes.

We met with management for a Q & A session here's what we learned:

Virtual Nurses:

Evergreen stated that they plan to pilot virtual nurses in the Silver Tower on the PCU, Oncology, and Ortho/Spine floors.  Virtual nurses will be experienced Nurses under the WSNA contract. Evergreen says they will get nursing input on what tasks are value added for virtual nurses. Evergreen states virtual nurses will most likely be involved with admission intakes and discharges and not physical assessments.

Cameras:

Evergreen will be adding smart room cameras to a system called Artisight as part of the upgrade. According to their website, "Artisight uses AI-powered ambient intelligence, two-way audio and video, computer vision, and a multi-sensor network to transform every hospital room into a connected virtual care environment that improves patient safety and reduces clinical burden."

Smart Charting:

Epic is rolling out Ambient as an optional tool to help with documentation and shift summaries. Nurses will need to be careful to check the accuracy of AI summaries before signing their name to it.

Thank you to our WSNA Officers Theresa Blazer and Lexi Overa for helping with the Q&A.

We have concerns about:

• What these technologies can deliver versus their promises.
• Failed assurances that virtual assistance won't replace the need for on unit staffing.
• The new systems could negatively affect patient safety and privacy.
• Nurses could be surveilled for discipline.

Please ask questions of your unit managers. Bring your concerns to your Union Stewards and Officers. We need nurses to help bargain, especially from the pilot units. If this topic interests you and you would like to participate, please contact Nurse Rep Janet Stewart: at jstewart@wsna.org.

Make your voice heard at the ballot box

Ballots were delivered this week. Voting in the general election is perhaps the single most important thing we can do as nurses to help improve our profession. Be sure to have a plan to vote no matter who you are voting for and take your ballot to a drop-off box. 

You can see the WSNA PAC endorsements at https://www.wsna.org/news/2026/2026-pac-endorsements.

You can see the WSLC Washington State Labor Council endorsements here:  Political Action - Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO

WSNA Spotlight! 

April Melchiode, PCU Nurse and WSNA Steward
This month we want to spotlight April Melchiode! We talked with April about her experience with nursing, unions and of course her dog, Mack. Here is what she said:

About nursing:
“I started nursing 5 years ago. I spent 20 years in Advertising and Marketing before going back to school. After I did my practicum at Evergreen, I knew I wanted to work here, despite living all the way out in Maple Valley.

About Stewardship:
“I’ve always been pro union. My first jobs were at Safeway with UFCW. That was the way I put myself through college. Our officers and Stewards, like Nikki and Theresa, are always here to support us while we are mired in the day to day. I’ve seen the difference they makes in our roles, safety and pay. I knew I had to continue to step up. I want to make the nurses feel supported and resourced in every way!

About Mack:
“I have a dog; his name is Mack. He is a 6 year old golden-doodle. Yes, we do call him ‘Mack and Cheese’ sometimes.”

We are proud to have nurses like April working every day to make our jobs a little bit better and our workplaces a little more safe. We encourage you to say hi to April next time you see her!
Please enjoy a photo of these beautiful doodle curls and call this good boy, Mack and Cheese.

Questions/Concerns?
WSNA Nurse Representative Janet Stewart: JStewart@wsna.org

Want to be more involved?
WSNA Organizer Sam Scholl:  sscholl@wsna.org 

Become a union member : Together we are Stronger
Link membership app: Membership application - WSNA

Contract, Updates and Union Leadership information can be found here:  
link LUHP: EvergreenHealth - WSNA