Cambridge (Mass.) Health Alliance resident physicians and fellows have approved a new labor contract.
Five things to know:
1. The contract, approved Oct. 18 after six months of negotiations, covers about 120 members of the Committee of Interns and Residents, part of the Service Employees International Union.
2. Under the deal, residents and fellows will receive salary increases totaling 20.5% and about 17%, respectively, over three years, according to a CIRSEIU news release shared with Becker's.
3. The contract also includes increased educational stipends for physicians, the establishment of committees focused on mental health and workload relief, and extra pay for internal medicine physicians working excessive night shifts.
4. "We worked really hard to make sure that this contract would especially help us access mental health resources, which we feel is critical to both physician well-being and our ability to do this job well," Justin Halloran, MD, said in the release. "By taking action, we won support that will both enable us to lead more full lives outside of the hospital while continuing to show up at our best for the communities who rely on CHA."
5. Cambridge Health Alliance shared the following statement with Becker's: "We value the tremendous contributions our resident physicians and interns provide to patient care and are happy to come to an agreement for a new contract with them."