Speakers share views about contract negotiations, staffing at Massena Hospital informational picket

He said they realized it would be “a long fight, even though after we start the contract we still want to make sure that everyone in the community is still engaged in supporting us.”

Registered nurse Casey Paquin began her employment at Massena Hospital as a nurse’s aide in 2007 on the medical-surgical nursing floor. She now works in the operating room.

“I take great pride in my Massena roots, born here at Massena Hospital, growing up right down here at the end of the hill. Massena Hospital was and is my first choice for employment. I have worked here my whole nursing career and would like to continue my employment here,” she said.

She said, since St. Lawrence Health took over ownership of the hospital from the town of Massena, Massena Hospital has lost several services. For instance, Ms. Paquin said, community members are now no longer able to get their emergency surgical needs taken care of in Massena.

“St. Lawrence Health states in its standard of behavior that they consistently act in the best interest of our patients, their families, our hospital and our community. A fair contract for St. Lawrence Health members ensures that they uphold that standard. A fair contract will retain current staff and help recruit new staff so the hospital of St. Lawrence Health System can expand services to the north country community, not eliminate them,” she said.

Registered nurse Amanda Murray works as an emergency room nurse in Massena and said they’re fighting for “proper wages, affordable health care and safe staffing.”

“The conditions that St. Lawrence Health has placed not only on our nurses, but on our community members when they’re in need of quality health care is not only unsafe, but neglectful. St. Lawrence Health does not care how many patients the nurses have. If there’s a bed, they will fill it. It is about the bottom line, not safe, quality health care,” she said.

Ms. Murray said she was no longer just an emergency room nurse.

“I as well as my fellow nurses are ER nurses, ICU nurses, OB nurses, medical nurses, surgical nurses, wound care nurses, nurse aides, dietary and housekeeping. We wear many hats to try and provide the best care we can with the limited staff that they give us,” she said.

She said eliminating services “has placed our community at risk and it is unsafe.”

“With their affiliation now with Rochester Regional Health, they are further restricting access to services locally and moving them to bigger facilities in the cities. This is a burden to our community members financially and emotionally. St. Lawrence Health’s refusal to provide services and quality care is neglectful. The nurses and our community, our families and friends deserve safe, quality care,” Ms. Murray said.

Bill Schneider, eastern regional director for the New York State Nurses Association, said St. Lawrence Health was “stripping services and closing departments left and right.”

“You guys lost your OB department, didn’t you? So, they’re pushing hard to close ours. It closed in Malone. Where do you have a baby? They’re stripping profitable service lines out of Malone and shipping them over to CVPH (Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital) and over to the other side of the lake and UVM (University of Vermont Medical Center). That’s what they do. They want to close these hospitals, close departments down, and your health care should not be dictated to you by your ZIP code,” he said.

“This is what unions work for. We work for fair pay, proper health care and safe working conditions. Worker’s right are human rights, period. That’s what we’re asking for. How do we expect to attract people into the nursing field when we don’t show any respect? We’re not going to be able to fill these positions,” Northeast Central Labor Council President Angela Trombley said.

She said services are now miles away in places like Burlington because of the loss of services in the north country.

“We have to invest in our local hospitals. There’s nowhere you can go anymore,” she said.

Ronald P. McDougall, president of the Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties Central Trades and Labor Council AFL-CIO, said that no matter the type of organized labor, “We’re all this together. We’re here to support you. Let’s not lose sight, particularly our first responders, our first line people. Where were they during the pandemic? Right here. But, now they’re outside, which means this is a problem. ”

He said the “mass consolidation of health care,” particularly in the north country, was “problematic to every single citizen that lives here. Whether you’re a laborer or you’re not, it doesn’t make any difference. If you’re John Q. Citizen, this is a problem.”

“I think it’s important to note that in order to have the best care that we can have, we have to have nurses that feel they have support from their administration. They need to feel like they’re well-staffed, that their patient-to-nurse ratio is a small enough that they can get the job done and they can keep patients safe and do the work that they need to do. They also need the training and the support to make them improve on a daily basis,” said St. Lawrence County Legislator Nicole Terminelli, D-Massena.

Megan Poupore, an operating room nurse at Massena Hospital, said she had “a very clear message” for St. Lawrence Health.

“Nurses will always put our patients first. This is why we need St. Lawrence to listen to our nurses. Our message is pretty clear Safe staffing saves lives, and that is our bottom line,” she said.