Centerpoint nurses vote to join union

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/othercities/kansascity/stories/2007/11/12/daily1.html

Monday, November 12, 2007

Kansas City Business Journal

The registered nurses at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence voted 167-103 on Friday to join a union.

As a result of the election, which 66 Centerpoint nurses did not participate in, Centerpoint will become the third of 10 HCA Midwest Health System hospitals to join Nurses United for Improved Patient Care.

HCA Midwest is the area's largest hospital system, with a market share of about 25 percent.

Nurses United is an affiliate of AFT Healthcare, a division of the American Federation of Teachers. It also represents nurses at HCA's Lee's Summit Medical Center and Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park.

The union also represented nurses at the Medical Center of Independence (MCI) until May, when it and Independence Regional Health Center were closed and replaced by Centerpoint, a new $250 million hospital.

Dixie Van Hercke, a Centerpoint nurse who previously worked at MCI, said the main reason for organizing at both hospitals was communication.

FULL 2 page story at link.