Gov. Janet Mills is calling for the California nonprofit that owns Central Maine Medical Center to rehire the nurses it fired.
In a Wednesday letter to the hospital’s president and CEO, Allen Stefanek, Mills called it “unconscionable” that Prime Healthcare Foundation would fire 15 nurses and suspend another five when Maine already faces a shortage of nurses.
“I strongly urge you to immediately reinstate every nurse who has been wrongfully fired or suspended,” Mills implored, saying that the failure to do so would make clear that Prime prioritizes “corporate interests” over “quality health care” for Mainers.
Prime Healthcare made the firings and suspensions Friday, a move that came just days after nurses picketed outside the Lewiston hospital over what they called management’s anti-union activities.
Central Maine Medical Center’s nurses are set to vote Thursday whether to join the statewide nurses union, the Maine State Nurses Association.
Prime denied that Friday’s firings and suspensions were retaliatory for supporting unionization, claiming that the nurses had violated hospital policies and standards.
A hospital spokesperson denied that Friday’s firings and suspensions were retaliatory for supporting unionization, saying the nurses had violated hospital policies and standards.
“Union activity does not exempt any employee from the same professional responsibilities to uphold basic patient care, safety, attendance and workplace hospital policies that apply to everyone. Central Maine Medical Center has a responsibility to our patients, our nurses and the community to consistently uphold these standards to ensure safe care for patients, while fully respecting employees’ legally protected rights,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
But Mills is skeptical of Prime’s explanation, saying that the timing “raises serious questions about retaliation.”
In her letter, Mills said that the health system failed to adequately respond to an information request from her administration over reports of staffing shortages and poor quality care. She said that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing Prime’s compliance with a state-issued certification of need, which the Mills administration issued to Prime last year to clear the way for its acquisition of the Lewiston hospital’s parent, Central Maine Healthcare.
“The decision to fire or suspend 20 nurses only heightens concerns that Prime Healthcare is failing to meet its commitments under the CON approval, which requires that essential health services for patients be maintained in accordance with acceptable standards for quality and safety,” Mills wrote.
This isn’t the first allegation of union busting against Prime. Earlier this year, it was accused of illegal firings of pro-union nurses at in Illinois. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board halted a union election at a Prime-owned hospital in Evanston, Illinois, because alleged labor law violations raise concerns about the possibility of a free and fair vote.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Prime Healthcare faced anti-union accusations at a hospital in Wisconsin. It doesn’t own a hospital in Wisconsin.