PEAK – Pottstown Celebrates Young Children YMCA – Healthy Kids Day

Saturday, April 16, 2016, 1-3 pm Pottstown High School 750 N. Washington St.

We invite your organization to participate by providing a family activity or other resources. We provide you with a table and space at no cost and an opportunity for family engagement.

Please reply to Jane Bennett – jbennett@pottstownsd.org for questions and to confirm your participation.

More than 1400 people attended this free event for Pottstown families with young children last year, thanks to the support of organizations like yours. We hope to see you this year at Pottstown High School!

This year, we will be partnering with the Pottstown YMCA and celebrating Healthy Kids Day! We are planning fun family activities along with music from D.J. Steve, a moon bounce, celebrated mascots and Pipper the Clown to name a few. The YMCA will be coordinating fitness activities and more.

We thank Pottstown Memorial Medical Center http://www.PottstownMemorial.com for once again being the main sponsor for April’s PEAK Month of the Young Child events.

Thanks for all you do to support that all Pottstown’s children enter kindergarten ready to learn and achieve. Join us on April 16th for our 10th annual event and help celebrate Pottstown’s young children and families!!

PMMC To Consolidate Business Office, Move 30 More Jobs Out Of Pottstown

POTTSTOWN, PA — Pottstown Memorial Medical Center has confirmed that business operations for the hospital and several others owned by Community Health Systems will be consolidated in Easton, moving 30 jobs there.

Hospital spokeswoman Debra Bennis provided the following statement after The Mercury contacted her seeking confirmation of a tip: “Providing patients with quality health care while operating an efficient organization is one of our top priorities.  To keep hospital resources focused on our patients, we are moving our business office functions to a centralized, external office in Easton.  This transition will also enhance operational efficiencies through technological advances for scheduling appointments.  All 30 affected employees are being offered a position with the central business office or another area of our hospital. We value these individuals and appreciate the professionalism they bring to our organization.”

A business office worker who contacted The Mercury, and whose name has been withheld, said the office workers were gathered into a meeting Sept. 11 during which the hospital’s CEO and CFO informed them of the change.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20130919/pmmc-to-consolidate-business-office-move-30-more-jobs-out-of-pottstown

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Furloughs 30 Workers For 90 Days

POTTSTOWN — Pottstown Memorial Medical Center has instituted three-month furloughs for dozens of its employees and one of its units will be closed.

“We are implementing furloughs for less than four percent of employees across our hospital.  The furloughs impact both represented and non-represented employees.  Impacted employees are being reassigned to other open positions as possible,” PMMC spokesperson Debra Bennis wrote in an email received by The Mercury at 4:51 p.m. Tuesday.

An email reply from The Mercury at 4:52 p.m. Tuesday, which asked how many employees the hospital has, went unanswered; as did a subsequent phone message asking how many people have been furloughed.

The statement Bennis provided included no information about what departments experienced the furloughs.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130730/NEWS01/130739893/pmmc-furloughs-30-for-90-days#full_story

PMMC Strike A No Go

CHS finally realized that people in Pottstown aren’t completely without sense and made a reasonable offer to SEIU members.  The offer was overwhelmingly accepted, thereby avoiding a planned three day work stoppage in protest of unfair labor practices by Community Health Services of Brentwood, TN.

Glad this has been put to bed.  The contact is for five years so let’s hope they don’t try and pull the crap again.  This is a union town and people weren’t born yesterday.  You can’t pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.  These tactics are CHS’s modis operandi.

Very shady people.  Maybe someday we can get their hooks out of our hospital and our town!

Candlelight Vigil Held Tonight At St. John’s UCC Pottstown For Union Workers

The long drawn out union negotiations at PMMC are wearing down the hard working staff.  A candlelight vigil was held at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Pottstown this afternoon at 4 pm.  Hospital workers, union representatives, Pottstown Mayor Sharon Thomas and the press gathered to pray for a settlement and support each other during this difficult time.

Community Health Services of Brentwood, TN bought PMMC a few years ago and has transformed our caring community hospital into a “profit center”.  CHS has failed to show up at three of the last four bargaining sessions.  The contact has been extended twice already so the union voted overwhelming to go on a three day strike in December to protest unfair labor practices by CHS. 

While most of the country is in a recession, CHS is making record breaking profits and for the 3rd Quarter of 2009, their profits increased a whopping 13%.  CHS is trying to take away worker pensions and replace them with a 401K and has not made any indication of what, if any, matching contributions would be.  Also, CHS proposes to drastically increase employee health care contributions.  In the case of part time employees their out of pocket contributions would increase 400%!

Many workers spoke as well as union leaders.  A letter from US Senator Bob Casey (D) was read showing his support for the union and the hard working PMMC employees.  Two nurses from the Wyoming Valley (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area) came in support of hospital workers.  They briefly spoke saying their hospital was recently purchased by CHS and they are having similar difficulty in negotiating with CHS.  They wanted to show their solidarity to the workers in Pottstown.

Channel 6 was also there and interviewed several key people.

The attached pictures hopefully put a human face on the struggle to get fair and equitable treatment for our hospital workers.  These are Pottstown area people who are trying to get a fair contract from a corporate giant who evidently cares little for the Pottstown community.

Rev. Karen Creasy, Pastor of St. John’s UCC lead the service which included a Litany for Solidarity and candle lighting.  Participants prayed that God would loosen the hard heartedness of those at CHS and PMMC.

There are two more bargaining sessions before the strike deadline.  November 24th and November 30th.

CHS Continues To Drag Feet On PMMC Negotiations – Strike Threatened

I have been watching this situation unfold and am not surprised it has come to this.  CHS has done some good things at PMMC by bringing in more doctors, expanding services and buying new and better equipment. However, their treatment of the staff is poor. 

I know a number of staff members at the hospital and attended the Sunnybrook Rally and the Board of Directors Meeting.  I feel I have some perspective on this situation as an outside observer.  Workers are stressed out and the proposed contract is beyond unfair. 

If CHS were struggling financially and needed the workers to make concessions to keep the doors open, I would feel differently.  What I see is another corporate giant worried about increasing their bottom line, not the people who work to make PMMC profitable. 

Mr. Kirby isn’t making PMMC profitable all by himself.  The other 1100 people who work at the hospital contribute to that success as well.  There is no I in team!

PMMC Board Of Directors Meeting Visited By Union Representatives And Members Tonight

Tonight’s Board Of Directors Meeting for Pottstown Memorial Medical Center had a larger than normal audience.  The meeting was held in a classroom at the Chestmont Professional Building, across from the hospital. 

Dozens of hospital workers, union officials and press packed the small room while PMMC CEO John Kirby presented the board with a power point presentation outlining the growth and changes at the hospital.

Dr. Whitaker, Chairman of the Board, allowed comments and questions from the audience regarding the benefit changes being proposed by CHS (the owner of PMMC).  One hospital employee passed a petition of support for the union workers to the Board of Directors and asked if anyone would sign it as a show of solidarity to the employees of our community hospital. 

John Kirby answered all the questions that were presented.  He deferred discussing most talking points due to the ongoing contract negotions process that was already in place. 

The meeting was fairly short and we were thanked for our time and interest in attending by Dr. Whitaker.  The meeting was adjourned. 

There was a brief rally in the parking lot to discuss any impact tonight’s visit may have made on the board.

The contract negotiations are continuing but without much success.

Pottstown Mayor Sharon Thomas was there to show her support for hospital employees.  Doug Pike, Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives 6th Congressional District, was also in attendance to show his support for hospital workers.

I was able to snap a few pictures, despite the darkness, to capture the moment for my readers.

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Employees Rally At Sunnybrook

Check out my coverage of this afternoon’s PMMC union rally at Sunnybrook on the Pottstown Herald!   The Mercury did not cover this event!!

http://pottstownherald.com/pottstown-memorial-medical-center-employees-rally-at-sunnybrook/1432/

Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Employees To Hold Rally On Wednesday – 4 PM At Sunnybrook

I have been asked to cover a union rally Wednesday at Sunnybrook.  PMMC employees are working under an expired but extended contract.  Pottstown Memorial Medical Center is Pottstown’s largest employer! 

The rally will be held at Sunnybrook – 4 PM this Wednesday.  I have no details if the rally is being held inside or outside but I was told by a reliable source that it is being held.  I intend to cover this event and report back via the Pottstown Herald and my blog. 

Stay tuned for further details!