Marx critical of YNHH plan to end visiting nurse progams
Yale New Haven Health informed employees Friday that it will end its wellness and Nurse Family Partnership programs in seven towns at the end of June, when current contracts expire.
The move will displace eight employees, including six union nurses (four full-timers, one part-timer and one working on a per diem basis), a manager and an administrative employee, according to Fiona Phelan, a YNHH spokeswoman.
'YNHH has taken away some very important services that don't just provide unique benefits but are directly vital in the towns they're offered,' Marx said in a statement. 'In addition to the potential layoffs this decision will bring for nurses, these programs will leave vital services unfulfilled in our communities, leaving patients and community needs unmet and in some instances sharply reducing the quality of care homebound and disabled patients will receive.'
'The federal government working to slash important programs is bad enough,' she said. For Yale to cut them further in our backyard is going to worsen already severe impacts.'
Marx, Senate vice chairwoman of the legislature's Public Health Committee, is a member and past president of Local 5119 of the American Federation of Teachers, the union representing members of the organization formerly known as the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut. Yale New Haven Health renamed the association Yale New Haven Health-Health at Home–Southeast.
The Health at Home wellness program provides nursing services at municipal locations, such as senior centers, in East Lyme, Groton, New London, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Stonington and Waterford, according to Phelan. Under a contract with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, the Nurse Family Partnership program sends nurses into the homes of at-risk pregnant mothers and follows the mother and baby from pregnancy to delivery through three years of age.
'Any decision to change a service that is being provided to the community and involves employees is extremely difficult, but we need to focus on our core mission of caring for our patients in hospital and home settings,' Phelan said. 'We are making the announcement approximately five months prior to the end of the program in order to allow our Human Resources staff to support each of the eight employees impacted in finding a new position within our health system or elsewhere. Providing this amount of time will also allow our communities to develop a plan for the future with as much time as possible.'
In an unrelated matter, Phelan said YNHH is transitioning oncology care from the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Westerly to the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Waterford. Current and new cancer patients who see their doctor in Westerly for routine appointments and consultations will continue to do so in Westerly.
The move has no impact on staffing at either location, Phelan said.
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
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