Oregon Nurses Association Newsletter Issue
Unity Center for Behavioral Health
Voice of Oregon Nurses Since 1904
#7 June 15, 2019
Our County Commissioners Weigh In on Unity
Multnomah County Commission Chair Deborah Kafoury Meeting
Monday, June 17 ⚫ 1:15 – 2 p.m.
Multnomah Building (meet in lobby)
501 SE Hawthorne
NLRB Rules in Nurses’
Favor, Vote Set
The many months of our hard work have finally paid off—we are on our way to our ONA election. Unity tried to deny us our chance to vote and we fought it and won. The NLRB ruled in our favor and our election is set for next Wednesday (see details below).
Unity immediately announced their plan to appeal the decision. But that won’t prevent us from moving forward to our vote.
At 4pm Friday, we received the vote list from Unity. Please look carefully at the list and make sure that you and your colleagues are on it (see next page). Contact us if you’re not. Once the list is finalized by the NLRB there can be no changes to the voting list. Then —make a plan to vote! What time will we see you there?
Election Details
When: Wednesday June 19, 2019
Where: Unity, Room TBD
Time: 6:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson Meeting
Wednesday, June 26 ⚫
Updated Time 1:45-2:30pm
Multnomah Building (meet in lobby) 501 SE Hawthorne
ONA Leadership Stands
Together With Us
The ONA Board of Directors (above) and the Cabinet on
Economic and General Welfare (below) stand together with
us in the days leading up to our ONA election.
Our County Commissioners want to hear from nurses. Multnomah County Commissioners should learn directly
from us about our experience at Unity, our dedication to the mental health of our community, and in turn the
critical need for nurses to have a voice at work to address problems. This is our chance to share our perspec-
tive and ask the County to urge Unity not to waste any more valuable time and resources on an appeal after
our election. Unity needs to respect the NLRB’s decision. And they need to respect our vote.
Please RSVP for the meetings by contacting Annabel Torres: (503) 309-3359 or [email protected].
Oregon Nurses Association | 18765 SW Boones Ferry Road Suite 200 | Tualatin OR 97062 | 1-800-634-3552 within Oregon | www.OregonRN.org
Page 2 Unity Center for Behavioral Health (UCBH) Newsletter
Oregon Nurses Association | 18765 SW Boones Ferry Road Suite 200 | Tualatin OR 97062 | 1-800-634-3552 within Oregon | www.OregonRN.org
Page 3 Unity Center for Behavioral Health (UCBH) Newsletter
This is the list of nurses provided by Unity to the NLRB who they believe are eligible to vote. Help us verify the list. And don’t forget to vote! Wednesday June 19, 2019 at Unity, Room TBD. Times: 6:00-8:30am,11:30am-2:30pm, 6:00pm-8:30pm.
Unit First Last
1E Sierra Bassett
1E Lisa Briggs
1E Scott Bryant
1E Sara Burgman
1E Tara Candela
1E Brian Crise
1E Gretta Cynamon
1E Patrick Daniels
1E Morgan Davison
1E Lynn Delorme
1E Uche Ezedi
1E Eva Fachiol
1E Kalleb Green
1E Jennifer Gregg
1E Patti Hayes
1E Chiekwugo Jiagbogu
1E Carrie Keys
1E Samson Mehreteab
1E Jason Miller
1E Karen Nanocchio
1E Sherrie Neff
1E Sandra Seely
1E John Flor Sisante
1E Leslie Sparks
1E Karen Sugiyama
1E Maria Vacarella
1E Jon Welsh
1E Kelly Willis
1W Brianna Ambrose
1W Zoe Arends-Derning
1W Nena Baker
1W Rebecca Brunk
1W Haley Choi
1W Craig Dunne
1W Michael Edwards
1W Amer Filipovic
1W Rob Filitor
1W Sean Francis
1W Maya Gates-Seymour
1W Dawn Galarneau
1W Dominic Gerbase
Unit First Last
1W Khondaker Haqq
1W Maiko Ishida
1W Michael Jackson
1W Naba Kanteh
1W Wade Lamb
1W Fletch Letcher
1W Brian Messman
1W Caylene Mulligan
1W Karl Rusterholtz
1W Christine Smith
1W Julie Smith
1W Jenny Snyder
1W Ting Zhang
Adolescent Alyssa Aurisy
Adolescent Kristina Baker
Adolescent Ray Bjorklun
Adolescent Lucy Bloeden
Adolescent Julianne Christopherson
Adolescent Danielle Copen
Adolescent Angelo Davis III
Adolescent Candy DeBoer
Adolescent Recel Delos Reyes
Adolescent Callen (Cal) Farmer
Adolescent Tiffanie Fitzsimmons
Adolescent Tracie Henry
Adolescent Nasim Hurd
Adolescent Melissa Johnson
Adolescent Amy Kang
Adolescent Erik Kola
Adolescent Libby Lowell
Adolescent Melissa Loza
Adolescent Nathaniel Lumbard
Adolescent Tammy MacDonald
Adolescent Tavya Marziano
Adolescent Elizabeth McAteer
Adolescent Daniel McNassar
Adolescent Tatiana Mueller
Adolescent Stepheny Norasingh
Adolescent Marilyn Petranovich
Adolescent Renee Rich
Unit First Last
Adolescent Olga Rusyn
Adolescent Claire Schuft
Adolescent Torri Sitzman
Adolescent Luanne Stagg
Adolescent Grace Tenneson
Adolescent Lane Werner
Adolescent Andrea Wilson
Nurse
Educator Joseph Gundlach
On-call Gita Basyal
On Call Sharon Richer
PES Sarah Adkins
PES Ashley Anderson
PES Kris Baxter
PES Tina Bean
PES Cait Bledsoe
PES Erika Busiel
PES Michelle Carrington
PES Amy Crandall
PES Brittany Davaney
PES Jacob Deney
PES Jeffrey Ferrier
PES Andrew Freitas
PES Jennifer Fresh
PES Kelly Garza
PES Marisa Goldfinger
PES Elisha Gonzales
PES Echo Green
PES Josephine Hoang
PES Jennifer Hummel
PES Steven Hunter
PES Luda Kaminska
PES Kate Kavanaugh
PES Courtney Klum
PES Megan Langworthy
PES Joanne Lloyd
PES Courtney Loy
PES Ken Lucas
PES Cynthia Miller
PES Leslie Miller
PES Sarah Mittelman
PES Jessica Moine
PES Laurel Nicholson
PES Kevin Opgenorth
PES Helene Paul
Unit First Last
PES Amber Pearson
PES Jennifer Perlman
PES Kendra Quinata
PES Tania (T) Roque
PES Michael Scheetz
PES Katie Short
PES Heather Smith
PES Ella Stevens
PES Earl Swanson
PES Jack Thoreson
PES Brenda Van
PES Shawn Wager
PES Kyle White
PES Jason Wright
Unit 2 Cynthia (Cindy) Connors
Unit 2 Amy Crise
Unit 2 Justin Daily
Unit 2 Robert (Bob) Dillard
Unit 2 Leslie Fisher
Unit 2 Emily Fuentes
Unit 2 Vicki Henry
Unit 2 Pam House
Unit 2 Chinyeaka Igweonwu
Unit 2 Camile Jackson
Unit 2 Angeliya Jenay Lizama
Unit 2 Nathan Jesky
Unit 2 Michele Kites
Unit 2 Tamara Kneipp
Unit 2 Dannette Liebreich
Unit 2 Brook Mays
Unit 2 Michele Murphy
Unit 2 Jessie Ramsey
Unit 2 Paul Reardon
Unit 2 Patrick Roach
Unit 2 Kristen Sharp
Unit 2 Zach Tessmer
Unit First Last
Unit 2 Lisa Vail
Unit 2 Charles Wagner
Unit 2 Kalen Walkington
Unit 2 Mark Zuba
Unit 5 Christine Allen
Unit 5 Hajji Ami
Unit 5 Kaitlyn Branch
Unit 5 Tonia Chambers
Unit 5 Jennifer Chauvin
Unit 5 Chrystal Collins
Unit 5 Heather Copeman
Unit 5 Nick Cox
Unit 5 Jessica Drake
Unit 5 Courtney Glover
Unit 5 Bree Gundlach
Unit 5 Erin Gwynn
Unit 5 Kevin Jerde
Unit 5 Sandy Maughan
Unit 5 Angela McGreevey
Unit 5 Rowan Mead
Unit 5 Adrian Menendez
Unit 5 Faisal Mutua
Unit 5 Paul Odders
Unit 5 Rebecca Pelton
Unit 5 Kimberely Phillips
Unit 5 Amanda Piraino
Unit 5 Kacie Prado
Unit 5 Danna Richkun
Unit 5 Jainaba Sidibeh
Unit 5 Kellie Stover
Unit 5 Misty Straight
Unit 5 Kristen Surrell
Unit 5 Shauna Wozab-Hall
Utilization
Management Teresa Diamata
Utilization
Management Shelley Thorton
Check this list for you name. If your name is missing, contact Annabel Torres:
503-309-3359 or [email protected] ASAP.
Eligibility to vote: All full-time and regular part-time registered nurses employed by the
Employer at Unity Center who were employed during the payroll period ending June 8,
2019. Also eligible to vote are all employees in the unit who have worked an average of
four (4) hours or more per week during the 13 weeks immediately preceding the eligibility
date for the election.
Oregon Nurses Association | 18765 SW Boones Ferry Road Suite 200 | Tualatin OR 97062 | 1-800-634-3552 within Oregon | www.OregonRN.org
Page 4 Unity Center for Behavioral Health (UCBH) Newsletter
Meet Jeff Ferrier
Jeff has been a nurse for seven years, previously at Adventist, he has worked on PES at Unity since it opened. He also floated to every unit except 1West. He’s lived in Portland for 13 years and when you don’t see him at work, he’s taking care of three girls and gardening. We took a moment to catch up with Jeff and here’s what he had to say:
What made you become a
nurse?
I’d gotten a bachelor’s degree in music which I enjoy still, but didn’t give me many job prospects. I’ve
always had an interest in medicine, biology, physiology. My grandfather was a surgeon. Seemed like a natural progression.
What is the most rewarding part about being a mental
health nurse?
I love being able to help people and see them improve from the initial state of trouble they are in. When my patient feels better both physically and mentally to be in a better spot, it can be very rewarding. It’s great to be a part of that.
What is the most challenging part?
Having enough time to do all the stuff you need to do. Managing your time while you are running around in an emergency situation is very hard.
Are there any Unity policies/procedures that make your
job especially difficult?
Since we’ve gone through all the stuff we’ve gone through, there are these new requirements, monitoring and making sure it is all correct all the time has been difficult. The job itself of direct care is plenty. Add on all your 15-minute checks and charting them for seclusions and things like that has been a significant additional burden. It has been a lot, especially in the emergency room where you are running around responding to crisis situations in different areas because it is so spread out. It is important, we need to do it, but it has been hard to cover that lately. We’ve been busier.
How will you vote?
I’m voting yes.
Why are you voting yes?
It will give us a stronger voice in working with management and improve things in that facility and make it a better place for staff and patients. Voting yes will be my part in improving safety and the quality of care we provide there.
What would you say to a nurse who is undecided about
voting yes or no next Wednesday?
This is going to be the best way for nurses as direct care givers to have representation and a voice to change things. If we want the things that affect us and our work and how we care for patients directly—we need to have a union. It will give us the strongest voice if we do that.
I’m Voting Yes!
Display your solidarity
by wearing RED every
Friday.
Show your UNITY that
we are one voice and
that voice is voting YES!
Wear RED on Fridays
ONA Election
When: Wednesday June 19, 2019
Where: Unity, Room TBD
Time: 6:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Unity Float Pool Jeremy Hafer
Unity Float Pool Jennifer Kitts
Unity Float Pool Evan Kogen
Unity Float Pool Joseph Luczek
Unity Float Pool Jennifer Thom
Unity Float Pool Gary Thompson
House Supervisor Mara Berbitzsky
House Supervisor Lisa Hooke
House Supervisor Bernard Nnoli
House Supervisor Anthony Rinck
Jeff Ferrier, PES, is voting yes be-
cause “It will give us a stronger voice
in working with management and
improve things in that facility and
make it a better place for staff and
patients. Voting yes will be my part in
improving safety and the quality of
More List Work
The names listed below did NOT appear on the
list from Unity. We have notified the NLRB and
are in the process of requesting that they be
included for the vote. Stay tuned for more