Trumbull Memorial nurses have gone the extra mile, but still face possible sale

Trumbull Memorial nurses have gone the extra mile,but still face possible sale
EDITOR:
I am the president of AFSCME/UNA Local 2026 that represents the registered nurses at Trumbull Memorial Hospital. As part of the Forum Health System we have, of course, received some notoriety during this turn around. We have been lauded for our bargaining and willingness to work with Forum Health. We have also received our fair share of criticism. Permit me a few clarifications.
Ten years ago, when the Forum merger was proposed, we opposed it. We knew that we had very little to gain with alignment at that time with Western Reserve Hospitals. Our opposition was ignored. Through four CEOs and administrative changes, we knew that policies were being enforced upon us that were certainly not in our best interests or the patients' receiving our care. Throughout this decade, our concerns were either portrayed as self-serving or ill-advised. All along, the nurses I represent, along with our management and other coworkers, both union and non union alike, did our jobs under the most adverse of circumstances.
When the system was threatened with collapse, the registered nurses approached me as their president to seek out Forum's leadership to see if we could assist them in our hour of need. While doing more with less and for less, the nurses at TMH continued to care for patients superbly. During construction of our new ER, formulation of a Chest Pain Center, achieving Trauma 3 certification, all our quality indicators went up. This was achieved by good management, concessions from the AFSCME and nonunion employees and last, but not least, the registered nurses working literally thousands of hours of overtime and extra hours to ensure any patient that when they walked through our doors they would receive the finest of care.
Now we are told that we are to be sold. What a shame. Just on the brink of our 100th anniversary, Warren may lose control of its hospital. There's plenty of blame to go around, but we as nurses have pledged to this community and our patients that we intend to work with anyone to make this hospital a better place.
We will explore any and all avenues to keep our resources serving the people of Warren and Trumbull County. We wish the others "Good Fortune" but know where our duties lie and intend to stay the course. As nurses we see no other way.
TOM CONNELLY, RN
Warren
An OASIS for education
EDITOR:
One method of improving or at least "equalizing" education in Ohio would be to develop an Ohio Academic Scheduling Initiative System. This would require the governor to assemble a panel of the "best" teachers from each Ohio county, as well as leaders and representatives of our universities and colleges with their task being to establish a k-12 curriculum for Ohio students.
This plan could then be offered to school systems throughout the state for consideration. Those adapting their curriculum to the OASIS that showed improvement in grade averages and retention would be recognized and rewarded.
Ohio should eliminate the more than 600 school districts in favor of four or five "education regions," with the state developing an education budget and distributing the funds by region. The tax structure could be altered to allow each educational region the right to ask voters within that region for additional funds through a county sales tax or by taxing certain products or activities.
DALE W. CLARKE
Newton Falls