Nurses at Minneapolis-based M Health Fairview have voted "no confidence" in hospital management's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the union that represents them.
Nurses say M Health Fairview is violating safety and staffing protections agreed to by the union and hospital management, according to the Minnesota Nurses Association — whose members work at University of Minnesota Medical Center-West Bank, Fairview Southdale, St. Joseph's, St. John's, and Bethesda hospitals.
Nurses have asked M Health Fairview to provide information about equipment levels, proper procedures, instructions and resources for protection for nurses, but hospital management has continued to unilaterally implement changes to nurse contracts instead of bargaining with them, the union said.
The "no confidence" vote comes as hospitals and healthcare workers across the country work to fight against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
In response to the vote, M Health Fairview, reiterated its focus on quality patient care and protecting staff.
"Our work to stand up the area's first dedicated COVID facility at Bethesda has moved fast, by necessity, and we have been in conversations with our MNA team members throughout this process, asking them to be our partners in meeting this unprecedented challenge," the organization said in a statement provided to Becker's Hospital Review. "We worked tirelessly to include them, bringing them in early on our planning and decisions, to respond to this unprecedented and highly fluid situation."
M Health Fairview said it is proud of employees responding to the pandemic and continues to work with state and federal officials to obtain necessary supplies.