Federal labor officials have rejected Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center’s bid to overturn its employees' vote to unionize, adding to the challenges faced by the beleaguered Medford hospital.
On Sept. 25 a three-member panel of the National Labor Relations Board upheld a vote by more than 200 technical workers despite Asante lawyers claiming the tally was tainted by unlawful organizing practices.
The ruling capped off a month of bad news for Asante. Earlier in September, additional former patients joined litigation alleging patients were injured or killed by bacterial infections after a nurse replaced their fentanyl with tap water. In all, the three suits filed over the alleged drug theft claim more than $465 million in damages.
Also in September, lawyers filed a $49.5 million medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of a patient claiming she was left partially paralyzed due to poor medical care.
A criminal case against a former Asante nurse over the alleged fentanyl swapping is ongoing, and she has denied wrongdoing. But the health system is contesting the civil lawsuits. A representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest developments.
In June, a group of radiologic technologists, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapy assistants and other technical workers voted 128 to 92 to join the Oregon Nurses Association.
Asante soon filed a formal objection to the National Labor Relations Board’s recognition of the vote. Attorneys for the hospital asked the board to reject the results because union organizers campaigned in the hospital cafeteria with four sheet cakes decorated with pro-union messaging the day before the vote while eligible workers were on paid time — which the health system contended was not lawful.
However, the board panel disagreed, finding that the campaigning did not violate precedent because employees were not pulled away from their jobs.
Employees at Asante recently went public with their concerns that Asante was in such poor financial condition that it might have to close its hospital in Ashland. The health system has denied the speculation.
