Our community deserves better.
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My name is Donna Qualls, and I work in the Surgery department at Emanuel Hospital. I¹ve lived in Northeast Portland my whole life. I¹ve worked at Emanuel for thirty-three years. It¹s very important to me to be able to serve my community and give them the care they need.
In order to do that, we need safe, consistent staffing, a stable workforce, and a low turnover rate. Experienced caregivers at the top of the pay scale at Emanuel are paid less than experienced caregivers anywhere else in the Legacy system. Low pay has a direct impact on the quality of care we provide to our community. In many crucial patient care classifications, such as ER Techs, Patient Transporters, and CNAs, more than 70% have been on the job less than five years.
Legacy is letting our community down. Legacy can and should provide fair compensation for caregivers at Emanuel to reduce turnover and improve the quality of care we provide.
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Help Legacy Caregivers! Send a message to George Brown, Legacy CEO
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In health care, experience matters.
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My name is Mike Myers. I¹m an Emergency Department Tech at Emanuel Hospital, one of only two Level I Trauma facilities in Oregon. We provide comprehensive care for severely injured patients. Our jobs are more difficult and require more skills than ER jobs anywhere else in the state.
The crazy thing is, ER Techs at Emanuel are paid less than ER Techs at almost every other hospital in Portland. So we have a huge turnover rate, and we're always short-staffed. That means the rest of us have to work overtime to cover all the shifts. People get tired and burned out. Their sympathy level goes down.
We¹re constantly training new hires. Over 75% of ER Techs at Emanuel have been here less than five years; over 25% have been here less than one year. New hires take a while to get up to speed. In the mean time, we¹re all slowed down as we try to train new folks and still get our jobs done. In a high-stress, fast-moving job with severely injured trauma patients, experience matters.
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If we can't count on our hospitals for affordable health care,
who can we count on?
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My name is Carlotta Franklin. I¹ve been a caregiver at Legacy Emanuel Hospital for nine years, and I take pride in my work. But even though I spend my days caring for patients, I can¹t afford to take my own kids to the doctor without financial assistance.
Experienced caregivers at the top of the pay scale at Emanuel are paid less than experienced caregivers anywhere else in the Legacy system. At over $200/ month for family coverage, many of us can¹t even afford the health care we work so hard to provide. My kids have to rely on the Oregon Health Plan, at taxpayer expense, for their health care.
Legacy is a profitable health system, and it could provide fair compensation for Emanuel caregivers. Why should any Legacy employees be forced to rely on Oregon taxpayers to foot the bill for our families¹ health care? |
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