Monday, June 26, 2016

Ms. Sheena Ferguson, MSM, CNS, RT

Administrator & Chief Nursing Officer
University of New Mexico Hospitals
Dear Ms. Ferguson,
I am writing on behalf of the nurses and the many employees that provide support services to the
nursing community at the University of New Mexico Hospital system. As you are aware District 1199 NM
of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees represents those non-management
individuals who provide bedside and support services to our patients.
We are concerned that the administration of UNMH has spent more time talking and writing about
maintaining its recognition as a Pathway to Excellence designated hospital, and its journey to Magnet
Recognition than it has in actually walking the walk to continue to hold the Pathway to Excellence
designation, and aspire to reach Magnet status.
For the past several years members of the nursing and support staff at UNMH have expressed concerns
about staffing levels, bullying, lack of a functional and detailed retention policy, and a commitment to
provide an honest pathway for the hospitals staff to negotiate over the important economic conditions
they and their families face each year.
We are reaching out to you in your capacity as the Chief Nursing Officer, as well as in your role of a
nurse to advocate for the best for your patients, their families and the community in which we all reside.
Once again management at UNMH has refused to address issues we have raised relative to staffing. This
time in negotiations relative to a new contract, management would not even entertain discourse over
this important issue.
Management also doubled down on the administrations policy of developing the hospitals annual
budget ahead of any negotiations in what can only be construed as a deliberate effort to prevent serious
bargaining over solutions to economic issues that employees and their families face every day.
We understand that UNMH is facing financial stress as are many hospitals. As the democratically elected
leaders of District 1199 NM we communicated to our members that we felt the administration would
not be able to provide a serious increase in compensation. Our members, who are also the staff you
always write about wanting to have a good working environment for, have taken it on the chin for
several years in dealing with UNMHs financial situation.
Well UNMH has stated there will not even be a modest increase. We kind of expected that. But UNMH
also decided to reach into the pockets of its employees and increase areas of cost to the employees for
health insurance. We really did not expect that.
But what is worse, and what we feel those at the top of the administration are immune to
acknowledging, is managements dishonest approach to providing proper and safe staffing levels and
the approach to a budget process that essentially denies inclusion of its employees considerable
contributions in determining the costs of fulfilling UNMHs mission.

As an organization we stepped up to defend UNMH recently filing a significant objection to the New
Mexico Human Services Departments proposed State Plan Amendment to its Medicaid program, which
if not withdrawn or rejected by the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid, will further hurt those least able
to defend themselves, as well as the hospitals overall mission.
You as CNO are quoted on a UNMH webpage as follows: At UNMH, we are committed to professional
growth, patient care and excellence in practice, said Sheena Ferguson, chief nursing officer at UNMH.
This designation confirms to the public that nurses working here know their efforts are supported, and
should encourage other nurses to join their colleagues in this desirable and nurturing environment.
Well as the old adage goes: Actions speak louder than words.
UNMHs failure to at least engage in a real and serious discussion hospital-wide about staffing and its
refusal to align the negotiation of contracts with a meaningful budget making time line is evidence
enough for us to conclude that retention is a buzz word to administrators not a policy, and to inform you
that we will be writing to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) requesting that they review
UNMHs commitment to creating a positive nursing practice environment to ensure the commitment
is real, and we dont experience what happened when UNMs Department of Dermatology lost its
accreditation due to failures of the Health Sciences Center UNMH needs policies that encourage
experienced health professionals to remain at our hospital, not drive them away.
As far as many nurses and support staff are concerned, enough is enough. We are professional
caregivers, not a version of Amway salespeople. We dont want more talk about great things, we want
to feel and know that operations and conditions at the hospital are great.
Shared governance requires really sharing across the hospital with all professionals ideas and
approaches that can move UNMH forward in health care. We have experienced a lot of lip service, but
not much execution in policy.
So we will also, under a separate letter, request that ANCC also meet with us about concerns we have
with UNMHs commitment to the protocols required to be met to advance the hospital to Magnet
Hospital status.
Sincerely,

Lorie MacIver BSN, RNC

President
District 1199 NM
NUHHCE/AFSCME/AFL-CIO
(505) 690-6932
lorie@district1199nm.org
Cc:

Paul B. Roth, MD, MS, Executive Vice President and Chancellor for Health Sciences, CEO, UNM
Health System, Dean, School of Medicine
Steve McKernan, UNMH CEO/ UNMHS COO
Ryan Randall, Director of Employee & Labor Relations