National Labor Relations Board lodges complaint against Saint Vincent Hospital

WORCESTER ― The National Labor Relations Board has issued a formal complaint against Saint Vincent Hospital for alleged violations of the rights of union nurses.

News of the complaint lodged by the independent federal agency was announced Thursday morning in a press release from the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Saint Vincent is owned by for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corporation, based in Dallas. Tenet's financials last year included a $16.9 billion gross profit and a $2.4 billion operating income, according to online reports.

Nurses claim Saint Vincent attempted to silence them from sounding alarms about low staffing that, nurses say, endangers patient safety. The board’s late-March complaint follows more than 600 complaints from nurses since July filed with state and federal regulators that claim unsafe working conditions.

Saint Vincent leadership declined comment on the formal complaint.

A federal trial is scheduled June 18 in Boston, when government lawyers will present the case before an administrative law judge.

Formal complaint: 4 alleged violations

Alleged violations cited by the board include orders by Saint Vincent leadership to keep union representatives from meeting with nurses at the hospital and preventing nurses from communicating their concerns to hospital administrators and supervisors.

In addition, Tenet allegedly refused to provide staffing information that the union claims is lawfully required. Saint Vincent also allegedly failed to negotiate an incentive bonus program with nurses.

“We are grateful for this charge against our administration and we look forward to the opportunity to present our case in court in our ongoing effort to hold our administration accountable for their abhorrent treatment of our members, and more importantly, for the impact these and other practices are having on the safety and dignity of our patients,” said a prepared statement from nurse Marlena Pellegrino, co-chair of the union’s local bargaining unit for Saint Vincent Hospital nurses. 

Pellegrino’s statement continued: “At the core of this complaint is Tenet’s refusal to meet with us or work with us in any meaningful forum to listen to our concerns and to respond to situations that are harming the very people we are all hear [sic] to serve.”

Meanwhile, an independent arbiter has ordered the reinstatement of union nurse Marie Ritacco, according to the union. Ritacco, who worked at Saint Vincent for 40 years, was fired while on sanctioned leave. The arbiter ruled she was fired without just cause, according to the union, and determined her termination was “an act of punishment and thinly veiled retaliation.”

Lawsuit preceded NLRB's formal complaint

The formal complaint is the latest development in a standoff between the union and Saint Vincent.

Last month, eight nurses filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the hospital and Tenet, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association.  The lawsuit, filed in Worcester Superior Court, claimed the nurses were fired after lodging complaints about inadequate staffing that is harming patient care. 

Meanwhile, Saint Vincent is back in compliance with the state Department of Public Health after an on-site investigation found deficiencies at the hospital, according to an email from the state agency. The communication offered no specifics on the deficiencies. The Telegram & Gazette submitted a public records request to obtain the information.

The investigation was triggered by allegations from nurses about unsafe care at Saint Vincent.

The hospital was ordered to submit a plan to the state health department laying out how it would correct deficiencies in order to ensure patient safety and quality of care. The department reviewed and accepted the plan and the hospital returned to compliance.

Meanwhile, a national accrediting agency determined Saint Vincent Hospital is not meeting some standards for safe patient care. The Joint Commission said the hospital was "found to be non-compliant with applicable Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Conditions."

Saint Vincent's accreditation is potentially in jeopardy and the commission said the hospital must demonstrate evidence that it complies with proper standards of patient care to keep its accreditation.

The Joint Commission is an independent nonprofit that accredits more than 20,000 health care programs and organizations in the United States.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: NLRB lodges complaint against Saint Vincent Hospital