Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

State reviewing nursing home strike contingency plans

An estimated 3,000 residents would be affected by a work stoppage

  • Health
  • by Keith M. Phaneuf
  • April 16, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Unionized workers from 20 Connecticut nursing homes announcing May 1 strike plans.

State health officials have begun their own preparations in advance of threatened strikes planned for May 1 at 20 Connecticut nursing homes.

The Department of Public Health announced Tuesday it has begun reviewing the targeted facilities’ contingency care plans, as well as the credentials of potential replacement workers.

The department also released the first estimate of the number of patients served at the homes facing a potential work stoppage, projecting nearly 3,000 residents could be affected.

“We at the Department of Public Health are hoping that both labor and management at these nursing homes can come to agreement so a strike can be avoided, but if a strike occurs, we will be ready to do our duty in accordance with state and federal law,” Public Health Commissioner Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell wrote in a statement. “We want to reassure families of patients who might be impacted that we will be vigilant and do what is necessary to make sure your loved ones are receiving proper care for the duration of this labor action.”

Coleman-Mitchell added the department also has prepared a pool of facility inspectors who would be ready to perform health and safety reviews at any time deemed necessary if and when a strike occurs.

Members of the public with questions or concerns about the department’s strike-monitoring program may call its Facility Licensing Division at 860-509-7400 or may email questions to DPH.strike.info@ct.gov

The state’s largest health-care workers’ union, New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199 SEIU, held strike authorization votes late last week and announced the May 1 target date on Monday.

The union says about 4,000 of its members spread across 43 nursing homes have been working for nearly two years under expired contracts. And the 2,500 members who authorized strikes at 20 homes are a part of this larger group.

District 1199 is calling for all employees — both union and non-union — at all of Connecticut’s 220 nursing homes, to receive 4 percent raises in each of the next two fiscal years.

Union leaders have said the strike could be averted if significant progress is made in contract talks with nursing homes.

But the industry, which relies heavily on Medicaid funding, has its own fiscal challenges.

While state legislature approved a 2 percent increase in Medicaid funding for nursing homes this fiscal year, and a 3 percent increase in 2016, the industry has gone several years over the past decade with no inflationary adjustment.

And Gov. Ned Lamont has recommended no additional funds for either of the next two fiscal years as Connecticut tries to close major, projected budget deficits.

Federal and state Medicaid funds cover the cost of roughly 70 percent of nursing home care in the state.

According to the Department of Public Health, the 20 nursing homes facing potential strikes on May 1 are:

  • Advanced Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in New Haven;
  • Autumn Lake Healthcare at Bucks Hill in Waterbury;
  • Autumn Lake Healthcare at Cromwell;
  • Autumn Lake Healthcare at New Britain;
  • Autumn Lake Healthcare at Norwalk;
  • Bloomfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation;
  • Chelsea Place Care Center, LLC in Hartford;
  • Fresh River Healthcare in East Windsor;
  • Maple View Health & Rehabilitation Center in Rocky Hill;
  • Orange Health Care Center;
  • Silver Springs Care Center in Meriden;
  • Three Rivers in Norwich;
  • Touchpoints at Bloomfield;
  • Touchpoints at Chestnut in East Windsor;
  • Touchpoints at Farmington;
  • Touchpoints at Manchester;
  • Trinity Hill Care Center in Hartford;
  • West Hartford Health & Rehabilitation Center;
  • Westside Care Center in Manchester;
  • Windsor Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keith M. Phaneuf A winner of numerous journalism awards, Keith Phaneuf has been CT Mirror’s state finances reporter since it launched in 2010. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 31 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut’s transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Grocery store workers ‘disgusted’ with Lamont’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Grocery store workers are frustrated with Gov. Ned Lamont, who is no longer prioritizing them in the coronavirus vaccination schedule.

Breaking with national recommendations, Lamont says Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will now be prioritized by age
by Jenna Carlesso and Keith M. Phaneuf

People aged 55 to 64 will be next in line for the vaccine.

In an evolving economy, lawmakers take roles once played by unions
by Mark Pazniokas

Economic trends and union struggles are pushing lawmakers to resolve through legislation questions once answered by collective bargaining.

Medicare cuts payment to 774 hospitals over patient complications
by Jordan Rau | Kaiser Health News

Six Connecticut hospitals are cited in 2021.

Why we can’t make vaccine doses any faster
by Isaac Arnsdorf and Ryan Gabrielson | ProPublica

Vaccine supply chains are extremely specialized and sensitive, relying on expensive machinery, highly trained staff and finicky ingredients.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Better rail service will boost Naugatuck Valley economy
by Kara Rochelle

For residents of the Naugatuck Valley, whether you ride the train or not, increased rail service will directly and positively affect your life. Increased and reliable rail service means increases in property values.

Opinion Why a Connecticut family foundation is funding the national movement for Black lives
by William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. Board and Staff

The last several years have thrust racial injustice against Black people not only into the media spotlight, but also into our emerging public consciousness about the continued consequences of our nation’s legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation.

Opinion Statewide standardized testing this Spring: To what end?
by Christopher E. Trombly

Despite many challenges, Congressional committees in both houses remain steadfast in their belief that state standardized testing should be administered this spring.  They cite the recent announcement that NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) testing will not be conducted this year as adding to this “moral imperative.” Better would be for state departments of education to use the myriad data that administrators and teachers have naturally collected since March to allocate resources that will allow for student learning to be recovered, and for historic structural inequities to be addressed at long last.

Opinion Felons and non-citizens on Connecticut juries? Not a good idea
by Steven Wilf

A move is afoot to extend the privilege of sitting on a jury to released felons and non-citizen long-term residents. According to a recent report, supported by Connecticut Chief Justice Richard Robinson, making this change would increase Black and Latinx representation. This is a laudatory goal. But it undermines the very foundations of jury participation as a key aspect of citizenship.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO