Retention Bonus

If you were employed as of August 26^, 2021, you have received the 1^st in your paycheck today. If you did not receive your retention bonus pay, address this with your manager in an email and cc lrobinson@wsna.org I have spoken with Kris Gauntt in HR, and she is aware of some problems with this. It needs to be rectified so that you will receive your bonus in March 2021 without a hitch.

Extra Shift Incentive Bonus

Good news! Kadlec requested to add an additional shift to the LOU.
Immediate implementation of $240 bonus (12-hour shift), $160 bonus (8-hour shift), or $120 bonus (6-hour shift) for nurses who work an incentive shift during the period covering August 26, 2021 – December 31, 2021.

Please remember to take of yourself. Often as nurses we start to become part of the “work” and feel guilty or necessity to work extra or come in on our days off. It is okay to turn off to cut off the contact with work. Dedicate time for you. You deserve it.

Memorandum of Understanding Re: COVID-19 Vaccine

WSNA negotiated with KRMC for an MOU around the impacts of this Vaccine. The signed MOU is on the WSNA website. We are working to protect all represented RNs through these unprecedented times.

Vaccination mandate deadlines approaching

Time is running out to meet the Oct. 18 deadline in the Governor’s vaccination requirement for health care workers. We encourage you to plan to ensure you meet this requirement or follow your facility’s process and deadlines for obtaining a medical or religious exemption.

These deadlines vary by the type of vaccine. Please note that Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccines are in short supply in Washington state and may not be available.

Here are the deadlines you need to know to meet the “fully vaccinated” requirements:

• Sept. 6 - Last day you can receive the Moderna vaccine and still be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 (because of the waiting period). This assumes you will get your second dose exactly four weeks after Sept. 6, which may not be possible.
• Sept. 13 - Last day you can receive the Pfizer vaccine and still be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18 (because of the waiting period). This assumes you will get your second dose exactly three weeks after Sept. 13, which may not be possible.
• Oct 4 - Last day for J&J vaccine (if available) or second shot of Pfizer vaccine or Moderna vaccine (because of the 14-day waiting period to be considered fully vaccinated).
• Oct 18 - Date by which health care workers are required to be fully vaccinated under the Governor’s order.

Shift Assignments

Today, more than any other time in your career you may be wondering about your safety of your patients, your co-workers, and your license.
Here are some useful links to review:
Resource library | Washington State Nurses Association (wsna.org)
Nursing Workforce – Washington Center for Nursing (wcnursing.org)
Approved Nursing Programs in Washington State
Accepting Rejecting Assignments v12-1.6 (002).pdf
Department of Health (wa.gov) (Patient abandonment)
Questions of Assignment (wa.gov)

All of you should become familiar with all NCQAC’s documents. Here is the link:
Practice Information :: Washington State Department of Health

Nurses may be told that if they refuse an assignment, they may lose their license for abandonment of the patients. Abandonment occurs only when the nurse willfully leaves an assignment, he or she has accepted without transferring responsibilities to appropriate personnel. The consequences if a disciplinary action is taken against an individual’s license range from a letter of reprimand to license revocation, including probation, limitations, or a fine. At no time is revocation of one’s license an automatic consequence of disciplinary action. Nurses should always utilize appropriate judgment when considering the refusal of an assignment. A possible alternative to refusal would be to accept that part of the assignment that the nurse feels competent to perform and assist with those activities for which the nurse does not feel competent to accept total responsibility and accountability.

Staffing Complaint Forms/ADOs

We encourage RNs to submit ADO/Staffing Complaint forms anytime your experience short staffing. This establishes patterns and creates traceable documentation of your short staffing, protecting your nursing license along the way. The online link to the Short Staffing/ADO form can be found below.

Links and conclu­sions:

Protect your license, file an ADO: https://​www​.wsna​.org/ado
Reasons to file an ADO: https://​www​.wsna​.org/union/ado

If you had Mandatory Overtime, file an L&I complaint: https://​secure​.lni​.wa​.gov/​w​a​g​e​c​o​mplaint/#/

If you have patient safety concerns, file a DOH Complaint: https://​fortress​.wa​.gov/​d​o​h​/​p​r​o​v​i​d​e​r​c​r​e​d​e​n​t​i​a​l​s​e​a​r​c​h​/​C​o​m​p​l​a​i​n​t​I​n​t​a​k​eForm.aspx

Please contact our WSNA Nurse Representative Laurie Robinson (lrobinson@wsna.org)

Please let our WSNA Organizer Ryan Rosenkranz (R.Rosenkranz@wsna.org) know if you want to be more involved.

If you are not already, please consider becoming a member. It is always a bad time to ask and always impor­tant to join. Get more infor­ma­tion at https://​www​.wsna​.org/​m​e​m​b​e​r​s​h​i​p​/​a​p​p​l​i​c​a​tion/union.

Questions? Contact a local unit officer or Laurie Robinson, RN or submit any additional questions to lrobinson@wsna.org.