George Delamarter, Local 1625
Lakeland Regional Medical Center,
Lakeland, Fla.
I'm George Delamarter and I'm a member of Local 1625. I am an RN and an eight year veteran of the Cardiac Interventional Unit at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.
Nurses are one of the biggest medical groups in the U.S., and we need to have a say in our health delivery systems to ensure that patients get quality care. Forming a union is the best way to get that say.
Now that we have Local 1625 behind the RNs at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, we're getting more accomplished for patients, nurses, and the hospital is even benefitting. There's no doubt that patient care has improved. One of the big reasons for that is our union contract makes it clear that nurses are no longer required to do non-nursing duties, like cleaning floors and bathrooms, instead of attending to patients.
Through the union, we initiated a system called Flex Up. The hospital wins because Flex Up significantly reduces hospital staffing problems saving management money on agency and contract nursing fees and wages. The RNs win because the program allows us to earn more money. And the patients win because they get better care from hospital nurses who know their cases and hospital routine.
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