• Pension and Retirement News
• Child Care and Youth Services News
• Training and Employment News
• Healthcare Fund News

As the industry navigates the uncharted waters of Healthcare Reform (HCR) implementation, it is clear that there are more questions than answers. While many important questions have been raised about what impact reform will have, many answers remain unclear. However, two things about reform are certain: HCR implementation is the responsibility of every healthcare worker, and everyone must commit to working together to improve the quality of care as part of the process.

Recognizing this, on January 19, 2012, more than 800 healthcare workers representing frontline staff, management and the Union came together to discuss and learn more about Healthcare Reform in a full-day symposium. The day was a much-needed opportunity for Union and management staff at all levels to share, ask and answer questions about how institutions will meet the challenges of HCR implementation. The symposium theme, “Quality Through Collaboration,” was echoed throughout the day in speeches and workshops, and even during informal conversations among participants. It was unanimously accepted as a critical tool in driving change.

During the symposium, participants identified some concrete steps that all healthcare workers, managers and Union representatives must take to move forward, including:

• Be proactive. Know your quality and patient satisfaction scores. Look for ways to improve.
• Work together. Demand the best from yourself and your colleagues.
• Share your commitment to change so that others can support you.
• Get involved. Join “Service Excellence” teams in your institution.
• Use HCR to improve the quality of care.

To support individual efforts to make the changes necessary for HCR implementation, labor and management must continue to work collaboratively. Most of the institutions in attendance already have labor-management teams charged with HCR implementation. Every institution at the symposium went home with a toolkit to strengthen that collaboration and help recruit more healthcare workers to participate in the process. (You can review the toolkit and information from the symposium at www.QualityThroughCollaboration.org.)

Healthcare Reform is changing the industry from top to bottom. It will impact the delivery of patient care, the requirements for Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and healthcare jobs. From transportation workers to administrators, housekeepers to nurses, doctors to dietitians, each and every person will be impacted by HCR, either personally or professionally. Every healthcare job will change in some way, so everyone needs to work together to implement change. As we look toward building a new healthcare delivery system, labor and management must continue to collaborate to ensure high-quality, patient-centered care.

Please stay updated about future events and news from the Labor-Management Project. For more information about how you can help make Healthcare Reform a success at your institution, contact info@QualityThroughCollaboration.org.