Member Action Led to Rehab Improvements
— guest post by Jackie Lombard, OHSU physical therapist —
In the fall of 2018, we posted a series of articles (here, here, here and here) describing challenges and concerns faced by employees of Rehabilitation Services. Those issues included denial of health-care benefits, pressure to work off the clock, unreasonable productivity standards, inadequate staffing for patient care and employee mental and moral distress. Many OHSU employees and members of the public posted comments of support and validation on the blog. Rehab employees organized to collect data, share information, demonstrate unity and educate patients and providers about the issues. Nurses, physicians and professional providers sent letters of support to OHSU senior leadership and offered other support to Rehab employees. Hundreds of people signed a petition in support of Rehab Services, specifically asking OHSU to do the following:
Provide the Rehabilitation Services department the budget to staff to the level necessary to provide services to all patients in need of rehabilitative care.
Provide the Rehabilitation Services department the budget to staff to the level necessary to ensure healthy and fair workloads for rehab providers.
Change the productivity expectation and calculation to appropriately and fairly account for all work required of rehabilitation providers, including educating students.
Partner with AFSCME Local 328 and utilize CWE Center resources to investigate and improve workplace conditions and culture.
The above petition, along with other activities, coincided with a series of exploratory and investigative meetings between representatives of Rehab Services and OHSU senior leadership, leading to the following improvements for the department:
Appointment of new leadership: Michael Rennick was named director of Rehabilitation Services.
Correction of allocated benefits to affected part-time employees, through FTE adjustments.
Commitment to a quality-improvement initiative focused on improved staffing and patient care, so far resulting in the addition of about 10 positions for therapists and support staff, especially in the areas of pediatrics and occupational therapy.
Creation of a productivity task force, with ongoing examination of standards and recommendation for any changes needed to capture the value of all work done by employees.
Affirmation from Michael Rennick and OHSU senior leadership that no Rehab Services employee should feel pressure or be required to work off the clock to meet productivity standards.
Removal of the productivity requirement to access continuing-education opportunities.
Completion of meetings with representatives of OHSU’s Organizational Development team, to illuminate and address further opportunities to improve workplace conditions and respect.
These changes happened because of the collective courage, action and persistence of many. The positive change in the Rehabilitation Services department is palpable and ongoing, with employees more committed than ever to each other and to their patients. On behalf of the employees in the Rehabilitation Services department and the patients they serve, thank you to everyone who supported and participated in this process, including and especially AFSCME staff and the Local 328 membership.