On February 6 from 0730-1030, enjoy a FREE drink + treat with your WSNA officers at the Starbucks by the fairgrounds, located at 909 S Meridian, Puyallup, WA 98371. Grab a treat and join us to talk about the issues happening on your unit and what you want to see in our next contract. Come for the free coffee, stay to help hold MultiCare accountable! Kiddos and family members are welcome.

Are you a social media whiz? Do you want to help get the word out to nurses at Good Sam about what’s happening? Consider becoming a Communications Chair! This role has a time commitment of 1-2 hours a month involving posting on social media, helping send out messages on Hustle text software, and keeping your coworkers in the loop about upcoming union actions.

Reach out to Nure Rep Janet at jstewart@wsna.org if you’re interested in this role!

Our Labor and Delivery unit recently took it upon themselves to help support families in our community suffering infant loss. The “Teddies for Tinies” program started by our L&D nurses gifts families suffering a loss a teddy bear. These teddy bears help provide the family with some comfort and can help siblings cope with the grief.

A few weeks ago, a loss occurred on the Labor and Delivery unit. Several staff members, including our WSNA Co-Chair Raeli Korzeniecki, went to the closet where bears are stored, only to find it empty. To help ensure the closet had more bears on hand for families, Raeli worked to develop an Amazon wish list and posted a request for donations on social media. By the time her 12-hour shift was over, people donated over 250 bears. The donations kept coming in, and within a week there were 800 donated bears. These bears often came with notes from families that had experienced loss themselves. These notes are now in a scrapbook in the break room that staff continually add to.

Because of the outpouring of donations, extra bears were sent to MultiCare chaplain services, the Emergency Department, and other MultiCare birth centers, neighborhood emergency rooms and first responders. Raeli says that “Baby loss, miscarriage and infertility are all too familiar with the staff in the birth center, which is why this cause and message run so much deeper than just a teddy bear. The teddy bear is a symbol of love, empathy and a reminder to our patients that others care.”

The work we do for our patients goes beyond the bedside treatment we provide. We care for our community every day, seeing people in the most challenging times of their life with compassion and kindness. MultiCare needs to respect us and ensure our working conditions allow us to continue to support our neighbors with the dignity they deserve.

We want to give a big welcome to the newest member of our WSNA Good Sam Union – Diabetic Educator Jennifer Schindler, who recently received voluntary recognition into our bargaining unit! Jennifer has worked at MultiCare for over 28 years as nurse. Her job as a Diabetes Education Specialist ensures patients have the resources they need to manage their diabetes. Jennifer also helps with MultiCare’s Maternal Fetal Program, where she works to educate pregnant women with preexisting or gestational diabetes.

Jennifer hopes that joining our WSNA Bargaining Unit at Good Sam will ensure fair treatment for her and her colleagues. If you see Jennifer around, make sure to congratulate her on becoming a part of WSNA!

If you know a coworker who isn’t a part of our union, or know a nurse who works somewhere else that doesn’t have union representation, reach out to organize@wsna.org and an organizer will be in contact with you.

Continue showing your Union Spirit by wearing your WSNA Blue T-Shirts on Blue Fridays. If you do not work on Fridays, then wear them on a different day. Take a photo and post on our Facebook group or our Instagram, @gshnurses. If you need a shirt, contact Ilia Mondoy at mondoyit@gmail.com.

Your Good Samaritan Officers,
Ilia Mondoy, Raeli Korzeniecki, Mindy Thornton, Aaron Bradley, Atalia Lapkin

WSNA Organizer Grace LaMonte GLamonte@wsna.org

WSNA Nurse Rep Janet Stewart Jstewart@wsna.org