Northwestern Healthcare System Selects Huffmaster Crisis Response to Manage Nursing Strike
THE CLIENT
The Northwestern healthcare system (hospital system) services include primary and specialty care, a Level II Regional Trauma Center to provide emergency care, a nationally recognized Regional Heart & Vascular Center, and a Regional Cancer Center accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on
Cancer.
THE CHALLENGE
Preparing for a potential nursing strike is always tricky for hospitals; this healthcare system was no exception. Several of these northwestern hospitals had their contracts with the Nurses Association (NA) expire around the same time, creating a situation where a strike could occur on a large scale. The hospital system was in the midst of contract negotiations with the Union when they began to plan for the possibility of a strike. A contingency plan was implemented to ensure they could continue providing care to patients in the event of a strike.
As negotiations continued, the hospital system and the Union could not agree, and on September 12, 2022, a three-day statewide nursing strike occurred at most hospital systems with open Union contracts. This event was unique for them, as it was the first time they had experienced a work stoppage of this magnitude.
All of the hospital system’s inpatient nurses went on strike, creating a staffing shortage that needed to be addressed quickly. To address this challenge, the hospital turned to Huffmaster.
THE SOLUTION
The hospital system knew managing multiple staffing agencies to fulfill their requirements during the 2016 strike caused them logistical problems. To avoid this, Huffmaster offered a dedicated team to work with them for all their staffing needs, ensuring the hospital had the necessary staff to continue providing high-quality patient care.
Huffmaster provided the hospital system with 130 qualified, licensed healthcare professionals to fulfill employee strike replacement requirements. Providing these professionals was essential, as the hospital’s medical surgery units receive high-acuity ICU patients regularly. They also provide Hospice and Home Care, which presents an additional and unique staffing challenge. Furthermore, the Maternal Child Health unit combines the nursery and birthing into one unit, which made finding qualified nurses another challenge.
“The hospital is a Level II Trauma Center; we have specialized nurses who are chemotherapy trained,” said the hospital system’s Human Resources Manager. “We have many specialties with unique certifications that we needed to find replacements to perform their tasks.”
Apart from healthcare professionals, Huffmaster also provided 14 security personnel with extensive, non-confrontational strike experience. These security personnel ensured the safety of striking employees and their replacements, protected hospital property, and prevented confrontations between striking employees, replacements, and the general public during shift changes. In addition, Huffmaster provided one administrator supervisor per shift, ensuring that the hospital had the necessary administrative support to manage the strike’s staffing needs effectively.
THE BENEFITS
The hospital system was concerned that any company they partnered with would be staffing other area hospitals. However, Huffmaster provided them with dedicated service to ease the three-day strike staffing concerns. In addition, Huffmaster helped the HR Manager guide the hospital’s operational team by offering her best-practices-to-follow advice during the time leading up to a strike. This insight was valuable not only for staffing and security but for operational planning and logistical considerations.
“As a healthcare organization, we understand the gravity of our responsibility as we deal with people’s lives. Our hospital system takes this responsibility seriously, and our success during the three-day strike is a testament to that. We fulfilled almost all of our staffing requirements and continue to provide critical care to our community. This would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our team and the strike management solutions provided by Huffmaster. We are proud of our mission and ability to fulfill it even in the face of challenging circumstances,” the HR Manager added.
Healthcare strikes are cyclical, and this hospital system benefited from the experience and a strike contingency plan that will simplify the process during future staffing incidents.
“Our hospital system established an excellent partnership with Huffmaster. We could openly communicate with each other and work through any issues–because we had the same common goal of helping people,” the HR Manager concluded.
To learn more about Huffmaster’s healthcare crisis solutions, contact Andrew Schroeder by calling 248.616.8317
