Union Workers at CH Hospital say new contract would send them to Reading for care

Posted 8/17/18

Hospital workers sign a petition for improved benefits that was presented to Chestnut Hill Hospital management. by Sue Ann Rybak Members of Chestnut Hill Hospital workers’ union, Service Employees …

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Union Workers at CH Hospital say new contract would send them to Reading for care

Posted
Hospital workers sign a petition for improved benefits that was presented to Chestnut Hill Hospital management.

by Sue Ann Rybak

Members of Chestnut Hill Hospital workers’ union, Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania (SEIUHP) said that Chestnut Hill Hospital’s new owners Tower Health Medical Group’s recent health-care proposal would force union members to travel Reading Hospital to see a primary care physician.

Tower Health Medical Group, an endeavor by Reading Hospital to establish a new healthcare system in Pennsylvania, also purchased Pottstown, Jennersville, Phoenixville and Brandywine hospitals from previous owner Tennessee-based Community Health Systems last fall.

Gary Canada, 55, a certified nursing assistant, said the recent proposed health care plan in Tier I did not have any doctors in-network.

“All the doctors in Tier I insurance are in Reading,” he said. “There are no doctors in Philadelphia in-network.”

Canada, who has worked at Chestnut Hill Hospital for 27 years, said he could get blood work or other health services at the hospital, but in order to see a doctor, he would have to go to Reading Hospital or pay more money.

“I’ve poured my heart into this hospital,” he said. “All we want is to provide the best care we can and fair contract.”

Yolanda Burke, a transporter with more than 20 years’ experience, said in a statement if the hospital isn’t “offering livable wages and affordable healthcare, we can’t hire and retain a strong workforce and we risk losing our experienced, dedicated employees to other hospitals which affects the overall patient experience that we as a committed team provide to our community.”

Roughly 200 employees – CNAs, mental health and emergency room technicians, transporters, phlebotomists – would be affected by the proposed contract.

Tower Health is also engaged in a labor dispute at Pottstown Hospital.

Ann Valuch, a spokesman for Chestnut Hill Tower Health, said when Tower Health acquired Chestnut Hill Hospital from Chestnut Hill Community Systems (CHS), Inc. in October 2017, “Tower Health was obligated, due to the collective bargaining process, to duplicate the legacy of CHS medical benefit plan that was already provided for the SEIU workers.”

She said last fall Tower Health proposed a new medical benefit plan to the SEIU that would replace the “legacy CHS plan.”

“The new medical plan would go into effect January 1, 2019 for all Chestnut Hill Hospital employees (including members of SEIU if a collective bargaining agreement is ratified prior to January 1),” she said. “This plan will be administered by Tower Health – UPMC Health Plan, and will provide Tier 1/ in-network access to all Tower Health hospitals including Chestnut Hill Hospital, as well as primary care, OB/GYN, and specialist physicians located in Philadelphia, and the entire Tower Health service area.

“As negotiations move forward, we will continue efforts to educate the union on how the medical plan works, and to clarify that the proposed Tower Health medical benefit plan does include Chestnut Hill Hospital physicians and hospital services at a Tier 1/in-network level, while the legacy CHS plan which is currently in effect does not. Our focus is on establishing workplace policies and practices that apply consistently to all employees, that reflect the realities of the local healthcare market, and that best support our mission of providing quality care to the community.”

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