Virtual health workers with Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health have secured a three-year labor deal with the health system.
Over 100 virtual health employees of Tacoma, Wash.-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, part of CommonSpirit, ratified the agreement Dec. 9, according to a spokesperson for UFCW 3000, a labor union headquartered in Seattle. The deal passed with 98% of members in favor.
The workers are based at a Virginia Mason facility in Tacoma but provide virtual services for CommonSpirit hospitals across multiple states. The jobs used to be located on-site at each hospital before being consolidated to the centralized hub.
The employees include telemetry techs who remotely monitor the heart rates of an average of 60 patients at a time and virtual companions who observe and interact with between six and 12 patients concurrently via video.
The deal includes lead bonuses and a process to discuss premium pay for virtual health workers assigned as leads. In addition, the agreement includes a pay equity clause where existing workers are brought up to the same pay as new workers with similar or less experience and increased access for union representatives to investigate issues on-site. The union tried to negotiate limitations on patient loads but was unsuccessful.
This is the bargaining unit's third contract, with the first being ratified in 2018.