Worcester St. Vincent Nurses Raise Alarm About Plan To Cut IV Workers

WORCESTER, MA — A group of St. Vincent Hospital nurses are planning to deliver a petition Thursday to hospital leaders over a plan to cut a group of specialized workers at the hospital.

According to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the nurses will ask St. Vincent CEO Carolyn Jackson not to move ahead with a plan to eliminate a team of intravenous (IV) therapy workers at an event Thursday.

The IV team includes five registered nurses who work 24/7 to administer special medications, according to the MNA.

"These professionals provide a valuable service to the hospital, our physicians and our patients and their elimination will only serve to degrade patient satisfaction, increase the risk of serious harm and unnecessary suffering for our patients, expose our staff to preventable needlestick injuries, and yes, result in the loss of revenue due to the complications resulting from this decision," the petition says.

A hospital spokesperson said it is planning to train nurses on IV administration before cutting the special IV team.

"To improve the flow of patient care, the Hospital is training all nurses on IV administration, which is a best practice. The IV therapy team will remain in place until all other nurses are trained to administer IV’s. The Hospital will support all IV therapy team members to transfer to another clinical nursing role at Saint Vincent Hospital. The Massachusetts Nurses Association was appropriately notified," the statement said.

The nurses say the planned IV team cut is one of a handful of problems ongoing at the hospital since the nurses ended a nearly yearlong strike — and fought off a union decertification attempt.

According to the MNA, the hospital is understaffed, which has led to several serious recent events, including surgeries being conducted with an improper amount of supplies. Nurses also say that the hospital staff have dealt with issues like a lack of linens and cleaning supplies, a malfunctioning HVAC system and a water shut off.

“We cannot and will not remain silent about this or any decision by Tenet that threatens the safety of our patients and our community," St. Vincent nurse and MNA leader Marlena Pellegrino said in a news release.

The for-profit corporation Tenet Healthcare, based in Dallas, owns St. Vincent Hospital. Last week, the company reported third quarter net income of $131 million. Over the three months ending Sept. 30, the company earned $4.8 billion in net operating revenue, down from the nearly $4.9 billion reported over the three months ending Sept. 30, 2021.