We need an agreement that gives us peace of mind and keeps us safe

“When COVID-19 first arrived in Clallam County in the spring, we sat down with OMC hospital administration to discuss our safety as essential hospital workers on the front line, and we reached an agreement, including protections for our at-risk co-workers, access to PPE, and timely notice of exposure to COVID-19 amongst other critical protections. Our agreement ensured our safety and has given us peace of mind. Now it’s the winter and we’re in the second surge—so why is hospital administration insisting that our safety agreement should end January 31, 2021? I work in the emergency department caring for my community—I need to know OMC hospital administration’s got my back not just until January 31st but until the pandemic ends.”

We need long-term solutions for a long term pandemic

“We too are members of the community we serve—we are the wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters who provide care on a daily basis to our community’s most vulnerable. As nurses and healthcare workers at OMC we’ve been called “our community’s most valuable resource.” Yet our community may not be aware that since June we’ve been asking OMC hospital administration to settle a COVID-19 safety agreement that meets our needs as the frontline staff most at risk. An agreement that keeps us, and our community, safe during the pandemic. If we’ve had an exposure at work or we’re feeling sick, we need access to paid time off while we wait for test results. We’re not tested on a regular basis and we don’t have guaranteed access to rapid testing. Many of my co-workers are single-income families and live paycheck to paycheck. Many of my co-workers have exhausted their vacation banks to cover their time off while waiting for test results. I’m worried that as their time banks diminish they may come to work sick because they need a paycheck. This pandemic is not going to end anytime soon! We need long-term solutions and a long-term agreement—not one that expires January 31, 2021, as hospital administration has proposed. It’s time to protect “our community’s most valuable resource” so that we can continue caring for our community.”