For Immediate Release
August 12, 2024
Adrienne Enghouse
enghousea@yahoo.com
503-810-4489
SANDOVAL, N.M.—The United Health Professionals of New Mexico, the union that represents nurses and other health professionals at University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center, said today the hospital issued false information about who PRNs are and why they should not be included in a collective bargaining agreement.
PRNs (which stands for pro re nata, meaning as needed or as the situation requires) are nurses, radiation techs, respiratory therapists and other health professionals who work in all departments in the hospital. They work as needed and don’t have set hours; many have worked in this capacity in the hospital for years. They do the same work as the regular staff and should get the same wages and benefits—and the right to be a member of the union—as the regular staff, said union organizer Adrienne Enghouse, R.N.
PRNs are different from the ubiquitous traveler nurses. They come from outside the area and leave after a set amount of time yet the hospital pays them a higher rate than the regular staff.
“For the hospital to say PRNs have no commitment to our community is a blatant lie. They live in our neighborhoods, pay taxes here and send their children to the same schools as everyone else,” Enghouse said.
FALSE: PRNs are freelance employees and are not regular employees of the hospital and should not be part of the union’s membership.
TRUTH: PRNs are not freelance employees; they have a direct and ongoing employment relationship with Sandoval RMC. They should be included in the union’s membership and part of the eventual collective bargaining agreement.
FALSE: PRNs are temporary employees and are not regular employees of the hospital and should not be part of the union’s membership.
TRUTH: PRNs are not temporary employees who have short-term, limited-duration contracts, sometimes with guaranteed hours. PRNs are permanent employees with an extended employment relationship and contingent work hours and should be included in the eventual collective bargaining agreement.
“To say it’s wholly unfair to include them in a contract is ridiculous. SRMC is spending twice the money to hire fly-in travel nurses on short-term, 13-week contracts but refuse to treat PRNs with the respect they deserve. This is a slap in the face to every PRN who has dedicated time, energy and care to our hospital’s patients,” she said.
“When we raise issues with the hospital, we have been very careful to speak the truth. When we say morale is low and patient care is often unsafe because of poor staffing levels and other inferior conditions, we know what we’re talking about. We’re on the floors every day and are working in the environment that we desperately want improved. That’s why we want a union and a collective bargaining agreement—to be able to work collaboratively with hospital management to raise the quality of care that has been called out by two national ratings organizations,” Enghouse said.
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