First-ever study links strong voice on the job to better quality nursing home care…Study shows better problem reporting, less serious violations where workers have a voice on the job

LOS ANGELES, April 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the first study of its kind, researchers found that allowing workers a strong voice on the job improves nursing home care quality. The study, published in this month's Journal of Aging and Health, analyzed data from nursing facilities across California.

"We found that allowing workers to have a voice on the job appears to enhance problem reporting while, especially in stronger union environments, it may reduce the incidence of serious quality violations," said James Swan, PhD, the study's lead author.

One possible reason for these results is that workers who have formed a union are less afraid to speak up on the job, and can negotiate over key factors that improve care such as staffing levels, training, and pay and benefits that help retain qualified caregivers.

"For 30 years I've worked in nursing homes on the frontline at my patient's bedside everyday, and I know better than anyone what my patients need," said Eloise Reese-Burns, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Cottonwood Health Care Center in Woodland, and a member of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West.

"Before we organized a union, we didn't feel as safe in bringing concerns about our patients to management. Since we formed a union, we're not afraid to use our voice to advocate for our patients. It's still a work in progress - we're still struggling to get staffing up to the level our patients need, but now we have a voice and a process, and our patients are definitely better off because of it."

SEIU nursing home members are also working closely with senior advocacy groups to ensure better staffing and care.

"When nursing home workers have a real say in working conditions, it's better for residents and caregivers," said Gary Passmore, executive director of the Congress of California Seniors.

By joining together with senior advocates and nursing home operators, SEIU members took the fight for better care, staffing, and funding to Sacramento. In 2004, California United for Nursing Home Care (CUNHC), a broad coalition of the nursing home operators, advocates and SEIU members, helped pass the Medi- Cal Long Term Care Reimbursement Act (AB 1629).

    AB 1629 transformed Medi-Cal nursing home funding and increased funding accountability by basing reimbursement on a facility's actual cost of providing care. Since the law took effect in 2005, nursing homes have made significant improvements to resident care, staffing, pay and benefits for caregivers, building and equipment upgrades and more.

    While AB 1629 is a vast improvement over the old flat-rate system, some improvements will likely be required in the future. Members of CUNHC are working together to propose changes that enable the law to function as intended, providing the opportunity for continued improvements for residents and caregivers.

More than 13,700 California nursing home workers decided to form a union with SEIU for a real say in resident care and working conditions. In 2006, more than 6,300 SEIU nursing home members won raises of $2.50 an hour, improvements to health insurance costs, and a training fund to help pay for classes and certifications. The increases were made possible by the increased funding and accountability mechanisms of AB 1629.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) represents more than one million workers in nursing homes, hospitals and in-home health care.  Overall, the union represents more than 1.7 million workers nationally.