Hello fellow nurse!

My name is Josey. I started my career at Nationwide Children’s nearly 20 years ago in the cafeteria, worked as a PCA, and have spent the last 16 years as an RN across various critical care areas. NCH iS my home, and I am proud to work alongside some of the most compassionate, skilled protessionals at an institution that delivers world-class care for our patients. And yet, I have always believed we need a union. Because while NCH provides exceptional care for children, they fall significantly short when it comes to caring for their own staff. Time and time again, when we ask for safe working conditions, fair compensation, competitive benefits, and genuine support, leadership does nothing and instead treats us as replaceable cogs in a machine.

In my two decades at NCH, I’ve experienced the consistent nature of this attitude from leadership:

• Colleagues face sexual harassment and workplace assault, only to receive little to no support, and at times direct opposition, from leadership.
• Experienced staff submit evidence-based proposals to institute positive changes for staff such as preceptor pay, only to be snubbed without a second thought.
• NCH touts family centered care but offers little to no maternity leave benefits for decades, and then pats themselves on the back when they institute a parental leave policy that remains the worst in the city.
• Repeated issues of wage theft from worked lunch breaks, overtime pay, shift differentials, and now certification pay.

The list goes on, my friends. The common thread is a lack of meaningfully caring for, valuing, and compensating staff that keep this place running and the billions in revenue coming. It’s time we hold NCH accountable to their stated values and to driving better retention, which positively impacts staff and leads to better patient outcomes.

I have personally approached leadership on multiple occasions to discuss issues, encourage accountability, and offer partnership in improvements.

I’ve been told that nursing staff don’t want money-they want recognition (the equivalent of a gold star or pat on the back). They’ve praised themselves for instituting ‘nurse of the year’ awards and grand nursing rounds, as if these are substitutes for a stable career from which we can retire.

Right now we are fighting NCH one by one, issue by issue. A union allows us to band together, discuss the common issues, and guarantee the protections we deserve. Let’s stop sitting around the nurse’s station commiserating about our abysmal benefits, how HR does nothing to support us, and afraid that speaking up will mean a denial of our vacation request. Now is the time to do something about it.

We give everything to this hospital and to these kids.

We deserve a workplace that protects and values the people who make its world-class reputation possible.

I hope you’ll join us in asking questions, looking at the facts, and standing together for our future.

In solidarity,

Josey Hensley, RN, CCRN, CCRP

Staff nurse, H8B