December MHHRA Newsletter
December 2005
Dear MHHRA Members:
Happy Holidays to you! I hope you have the opportunity to spend time with the special people in your lives and enjoy the season. I would like to thank each of you for your support of MHHRA breakfast programs this year - we have had terrific speakers and looking ahead to the next six months of our program calendar, there is more to come! Be sure to mark the MHHRA events on your 2006 calendar - you won't want to miss the following:
January 17, 2006
Title: 1199 and the Massachusetts Nursing Association
Time: 7:45 am – 9:30 am
Location: The Conference Center at Waltham Woods
Speaker: Tom Smith, Jackson Lewis
Register: www.mhhra.org
February 7, 2006
Title: Human Resource Competency
Time: 7:45 am – 9:30 am
Location: The Conference Center at Waltham Woods
Speaker: Greta Sherman, SVP, TMP
March 21, 2006
Topic: Diversity
Time: 7:45 am – 9:30 am
Location/Speaker: The Conference Center at Waltham Woods
April TBD, 2006
Title: MHHRA Dinner Social
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: TBD
May 5, 2006
Title: MHA/MHHRA Labor Forum
Time: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Sheraton Tara Hotel, Framingham
June 6, 2006
Title: Annual Meeting and Awards
Time: 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Location: Conference Center at Waltham Woods
All MHHRA programs are presented at The Conference Center at Waltham Woods, except the April 2006 MHHRA Dinner Social which will be held at a special venue to be announced in early 2006, and the May Labor Forum which will be held at the Framingham Sheraton Tara Hotel.
As the New Year continues, we encourage our members to become involved in MHHRA by attending programs and in joining one of our committees. Self nomination forms can be found on our new website under Member Login.
Diane Bono
MHHRA President
 As you know, our web site features a members-only section - please respect the privacy of our membership!! CONFIDENTIAL Member Only Access can be granted with the following information:
Login: Member
Password: MHHR4
We are very interested in your comments and thoughts on our web site – please share them with us via email at mhhra@mhhra.org. This wonderful member benefit would not be possible without the help of our Business Partners:
Bernard HODES Group
A fully integrated recruitment communications and staffing solutions provider offering solutions that often combine multiple service offerings from the Company's core competency areas: Recruitment Marketing; Sourcing/Response Management; Hiring Process Re-engineering; and Staffing Technology. All solutions are developed and measured within the Company's 360-degree process methodology. The Company's Health Care Division is staffed by RNs with clinical, managerial and recruiting experience. In addition, Bernard Hodes Group has health care strategists in many of its offices nationwide. The Company is headquartered in New York, with over 80 offices and affiliates around the globe. Bernard Hodes Group serves thousands of clients in virtually every industry, helping them to attract and retain talented workers in every skills set. Please visit http://www.hodes.com
BostonWorks
A division of the Boston Globe, BostonWorks is the largest and most popular recruitment tool dedicated to the Boston market. BostonWorks has more jobs, more resumes and reaches more active and passive job seekers than any other recruitment site in the market. BostonWorks and BostonWorks.com leverage the power of The Boston Globe and Boston.com to reach an audience of more than 2.4 million each week.
In addition to the BostonWorks section in The Boston Sunday Globe and the online recruitment site BostonWorks.com, the division offers industry-specific magazines such as "On Call" for nurses and allied health professionals and JobSource, a weekly career publication with distribution of over 100,000. BostonWorks also produces a number of career fairs held in Greater Boston throughout the year. Please visit http://www.bostonworks.com
Crosby Benefits
Crosby Benefit Systems designs, builds and implements quality benefits programs that work smoothly today and will adapt readily in the future. Whatever your need - from insurance brokerage, to efficient plan administration, to reliable advice - we begin by looking at the whole picture, then partner with our clients to develop the best solutions.
LaRhette Manin Benefit Service Group
At LaRhette Manin BSG, products, consulting and service converge to provide a single-point resource for the human resources and financial executive. We can approach your strategic requirements from any angle, and provide your organization with the following array of services bundled in a comprehensive package: Design initiatives, Investment and insurance carrier selection and management, Employee communications and training, Enrollment and on-going educational services, On-going plan administration and Comprehensive employee services.
Nursing Spectrum
Nursing Spectrum is an RN-led communications company that celebrates nurses and the profession of nursing. Supporting, recognizing and educating registered nurses is at the heart of all we do. We believe that no one cares about nurses like nurses do, so our products and services are created "for RNs, by RNs."
MHHRA’s final budget for the 2004-2005 year is now available. To view a copy, please download the following PDF.
Employer Health Insurance Survey:
The Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy announces the availability of results from their latest statewide employer health insurance survey. Conducted every two years, this survey of private employers with two or more employees offers a comprehensive picture of trends in premium costs, offer rates and other important aspects of employer sponsored health insurance in Massachusetts. Both the survey text and results are available at the Division’s website, www.mass.gov/dhcfp. Click on Policy Analysis on the left, then on Health Insurance. More results will be added as additional modules are analyzed. If you have any questions or want the results from specific questions, email Maria Schiff at maria.schiff@state.ma.us.
 The MHHRA Legislative/Labor/Employee Relations Committee Wants YOU!
David Ryan and Ed Fiander are actively seeking those MHHRA members who would like to become a part of their committee. Those members interested in serving on the committee should contact Dave (dryan@quincymc.org) or Ed (edfiander@comcast.net).
MHHRA’s most recent budget is available to our members. To view a copy, please download the following PDF.
MHHRA would like to welcome the following new and returning members to our Chapter!
Arnold J. Avila Director Human Resources, Brockton Hospital
Melissa Leigh Holden OD Specialist, Umass Memorial Medical Center
Richard Horne Director Human Resources, Arbour Hospital
Diane Stacey-Wood HR Generalist, Brigham & Womens Hospital
Alissa Story Director, Monster Worldwide
 DID YOU KNOW…ASHHRA has a discussion board for members only? The discussion board is the perfect forum to access or request information. WHO BETTER TO ASK…than your colleagues who are facing the same challenges day-to-day. To access the Discussion Board:
- Go to www.ashhra.org. You will need to login using your username and password to gain access. If you forgot your username and password, send an email to ashhra@aha.org. If you have not registered for the website, click on “Register Now” to create your username and password. On the second page of registration, select ASHHRA as your society and enter your 10-digit ID number and submit. Continue with registration until complete.
- After you have logged in, touch Members Only and you will see a drop down menu. You can then scroll down to Discussion Board and click.
It’s that easy. Be sure to login periodically to answer questions posted by your ASHHRA colleagues. REMEMBER…whenever you need the expertise of other ASHHRA members, post a question on the ASHHRA Discussion Board – it is a terrific networking tool!
MHAlink: A Valuable Resource MHHRA members should be aware that if you go online to the Massachusetts Hospital Association’s website (www.mhalink.org), there are valuable links available, especially if you’re interested in legislative issues. There are links on this website that will lead you to web sites such as: federal government links to US Senate and US House of Representatives, various federal agencies, and a link to THOMAS (legislative), which provides up to date information regarding pending legislation; state links including how to find local legislators, a link to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and links to local government. In addition, there is a listing of “Other” valuable links that are worth reviewing. This information may become extremely useful particularly should we as MHHRA and/or ASHHRA members need to get more involved in workforce related legislative initiatives. When you get a chance, take a look at this web site. We think you will quickly see the value of doing so.
Our Region I representative currently serving on ASHHRA’s Legislative & Labor Committee is Mike Paruta, Associate Vice President, Women and Infants Hospital, 101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI 02905, mparuta@wihri.org
Mike let our chapter know that in mid-October, the ASHHRA Board of Directors tentatively approved going ahead with a labor seminar series as recommended and supported by the ASHHRA Legislative and Labor Committee. The Board has requested that some additional field research be completed by the committee and the Board Regional Representatives.
What follows are the anticipated topics to be covered in the series:
- Union Organizing and Bargaining in Healthcare: the latest Tactics, Trends, and Legal Developments--Especially after the AFL-CIO Breakup
- Healthcare Union Organizing on a National and Regional Basis--Emphasis on Recent CNA and SEIU Initiatives
- Frequently Appearing Labor Organizing and Collective Bargaining Issues
Most Active Unions in Healthcare and Review of Their Tactics (Including a Video and Campaign Material)
- Union Organizing: An Inside View
- NLRB and Court Decisions of Particular Interest, from a Legal and Practical Perspective, to Healthcare Providers
- Corporate Campaigns and Potential Responses
- Navigating Through the NLRB Regulatory Environment For Non Union and Union Facilities
- Practical and Legal Steps Questions and Answer Period--A Review of What We Have Learned
What is proposed is a 1 1/2 day agenda. However, prior to committing funds to the development and delivery of 4 regional sessions (Atlanta, LA, Chicago and DC) in the 1st quarter of 2006, the ASHHRA Board is interested in getting feedback from members. Toward that end, it is expected that a representative sampling of members and chapter leaders be contacted through the regional representatives to glean their responses to the following:
- What is the reaction to the content of the proposed agenda? Will it be of interest to both members and non-members in the 4 locations noted above?
- Assuming that the cost will be between $250 and $300 to attend (perhaps a little less for members); do you think we can register 100-150 participants per seminar? The additional costs might be airfare and 1 hotel night ranging from $169-$199 per night. Meals will be provided and all participants will receive written materials as part of the registration fee.
- Looking at other types of labor seminars being offered, can we or do we want to pare this seminar down to a 1-day program? Is this solely tied to costs or time issues, etc.?
- Any other reactions to the series as developed to date?
This information is being collected during the month of October, with feedback due to the Chair of the ASHHRA L&L Committee and the ASHHRA Executive Director by month’s end. This information will then be reviewed and subsequently a decision made regarding this potential workshop. As we get more information, we will share that with the MHHRA membership. In the meantime, if you have any comments about this workshop (even though it may be hearing about it beyond the end of October); please contact Dave (dryan@quincymc.org) or Ed (edfiander@comcast.net). Any feedback received will be forwarded to Mike Paruta, who will then follow up with ASHHRA leadership. |
