Mass General Brigham union could shape hospital-at-home’s future

Mass General Brigham union could shape hospital-at-home’s future 
Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook; 6/17/24 
Nurses at one of the nation’s largest hospital-at-home programs have unionized, a move they hope could influence the future of in-home acute care and encourage more people working in home healthcare to join unions. The union vote at Boston’s Mass General Brigham comes as hospitals push aggressively to expand care outside of their walls, while a worker shortage and increased demand for healthcare contribute to rising labor strife among caregivers. Approximately 80 Mass General Brigham home hospital nurses voted overwhelmingly on May 16 to join the Massachusetts Nurse Association. The National Labor Relations Board certified the union to represent the nurses on May 24 and they are in the midst of selecting a bargaining team that will begin negotiating a contract with the hospital system within the next few months. ...  The hospital system is set to expand the number of patients the program can accommodate from 50 patients a day to 200 over the next few years.