Renee Clark
Officers
Adrienne Harris
Karen McMichael
Vacant
WSNA staff contact
WSNA staff contact
Contract
Spring 2024 Newsletter
Posted Apr 22, 2024
Nurses Day Celebration
May 7 from 2:30-3:30 in the Education Room. All nurses are invited to celebrate. Please extend this invitation to your LPN colleagues.
New Nurse Representative at WWVH
In order to better balance our workload at WSNA, we occasionally need to change our nurse rep assignments. It has been an absolute honor to work with all of you and to help facilitate change. I will continue to participate in contract negotiations and Carmen Garrison will be your nurse representative. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Carmen can be contacted at cgarrison@wsna.org or 206-575-7979, Ext. 3113 (office).
Officer Elections
Look for the election ballot in your mail. Please complete and mail back promptly (self-addressed/stamped envelopes are provided with the ballot).
Contract Negotiations
The yellow highlighted days are bargaining days. These are by ZOOM. If you would like to attend, let Laurie Robinson know for a link.
Confirmed Dates:
May 23 Union presentation of initial proposal
June 18, 20 State initial proposal and bargaining.
July 9. –
July 23 full session
July 24 MMP if necessary
August 28, 29
September 10, 12, 17
LMCC
June 4, 2024, 2:30-3:30 (Location TBA)
Contact Renee Clark, Adrienne Harris, Mary Jennings or Carmen Garrison Nurse Representative if you are interested in attending and have agenda items. Below are the minutes from 3/5/24:
1. Approval of Meeting Minutes from last meeting: 12/04/2023 Meeting minutes reviewed.
2. Safety/ Workplace Violence:
a. Laurie asked, are the Workplace Violence Signs working? Response, not working with certain resident’s guests/relatives. Lewisia is meeting with one resident relative on 3/6/24.
b. There is coworker discord in Hudson/Kirkman. It is being addressed.
c. Concerns over care plan wording were discussed. RCM has updated and corrected this concern.
d. Fresh water for residents; RCMs to follow up on water being refreshed at the beginning of shifts. Per Lewisia.
e. Can the facility buses, cart, vehicle, etc. be parked in the lower employee parking lot? Per Policy they will remain in the top employee parking lot. UPDATE 4/3/2024: Facility vehicles are now parked in the lower-level (gravel) parking lot, providing more availability for employees.
f. When the future storage building construction happens, overhead lights will be installed in the lower employee parking lot.
3. Staffing Update:
a. Open FTE: RN2 1 on-call, LPN2 1 on-call.
b. Number of nurses on FMLA, RA and L&I Light Duty is 10:
FMLA Intermittent 7 , FMLA continuous 1, Reasonable Accommodations 1, L&I 1.
c. Agency utilization- number of shifts filled for last quarter: see below.
d. OC utilization- number of shifts filled for last quarter: see below.
e. Mandatory OT occurrences: see below.
f. Mandatory OT occurrences required for RCM to fill shifts: see below.
December
VOT – 10.5
MOT – 2
On-call – 73.5
Agency – 17
RN3 VOT – 4
January
VOT – 5
MOT – 3.5
On-call – 45.5
Agency – 4.5
RN3 VOT – 0.5
February
VOT – 7.5
MOT – 0.5
On-call – 50.5
Agency – 1
RN3 VOT – 4
4. RCM/MDS new model update by Lewisia: We are ready to move forward once the Supervisor/Location changes are completed (which are with Central Office for processing now). Checklist is done, and training has and will continue to happen. Mary mentioned that the MDS portion is going well.
5. ADOs: Reviewed December 31, 2023.
6. Open Forum:
1) Questions surfaced around shift differential when RCM’s work as a nurse on weekends. Do RCMs get shift differential, and OT if worked? Yes, Saturday and Sunday work is paid at $4 per hour as weekend shift differential, and OT is paid if the RCM is over 40-hours for the week.
2) *RN2 vacation approval. Lewisia will work with Renee and Adrienne individually on their questions.
UMCC
May 2, 2024, 2 – 4 p.m.
We will post these minutes as soon as we receive them from the head office. This is on Teams if you would like to attend. See link below:
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 210 108 350 704
Passcode: iHsFCx
Download Teams | Join on the web
Or call in (audio only)
+1 564-999-2000,,530331361# United States, Olympia
(833) 322-1218,,530331361# United States (Toll-free)
Phone Conference ID: 530 331 361#
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reach out to:
Renee Clark-Chair
Adrienne Harris-Vice Chair
Thank you again for the honor to represent you!
Laurie Robinson- WNSA Nurse Rep. lrobinson@wsna.org or 206-620-4136
WSNA Membership
If you are not a WSNA member please consider completing a membership application today! Just click on the link!
YOU ARE WSNA!
Previous updates
WSNA Walla Walla Veterans Home call for nominations for local unit officers
Mar 18, 2024
Department of Veteran Affairs negotiations survey – Extended to March 18
Mar 07, 2024
Contract Negotiations Survey
Feb 15, 2024
Winter Newsletter 2024
Jan 29, 2024
Department of Veteran Affairs negotiations survey
Jan 29, 2024
Fall Newsletter 2023
Nov 02, 2023
Upcoming event
2024 Union Leadership Conference - SOLD OUT
Join nurses from around the state as we convene to learn, build, celebrate and strategize.
WSNA union news
Resources and tools
Document unsafe conditions
If you find yourself in a situation that you believe creates unsafe conditions for patients or for you, you should complete a Staffing Complaint / ADO Form as soon as possible.
By completing the form, you will help make the problem known to management, creating an opportunity for the problem to be addressed. Additionally, you will be documenting the facts, which may be helpful to you later if there is a negative outcome.
WSNA also uses your ADO forms to track the problems occurring in your facility. When you and your coworkers take the important step of filling out an ADO form, you are helping to identify whether there is a pattern of unsafe conditions for you or your patients at your facilities. This information is used by your conference committee, staffing committee, and WSNA labor staff to improve your working conditions.
Representation rights
As a union member, you have the right to have a representative present in any meetings with management that could potentially lead to disciplinary action against you.
If called into a meeting with management, read the following to management when the meeting begins:
If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, I respectfully request that my union representative be present at this meeting. Without representation present, I choose not to participate in this discussion.
Find out more about this crucial right and how to exercise it to ensure your fair treatment and protection.
Continuing education offerings
Enhance your professional competency with WSNA's free online courses.
Earn CNE contact hours through topics like Cultural Humility, Telehealth Assessment, Workplace Violence Prevention, and more. Convenient and self-paced, our courses provide practical knowledge for your daily work. Expand your skills and stay up-to-date with the latest nursing practices.
Visit cne.wsna.org to access our courses and earn CNE contact hours.