Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Fallbook Hospital spanked by court

Problems with facility's former management still being unravelled

On May 8, Fallbrook Hospital (which closed in December) got a spanking from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In April of last year, the National Labor Relations Board had ruled that the hospital violated sections of the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to bargain in good faith with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee of the AFL-CIO.

In April, the board had ruled that Fallbrook "operated with a closed mind and put up a series of roadblocks designed to thwart and delay bargaining...there was no intent to bargain." The following month, the hospital appealed the part of the decision requiring it to pay negotiation expenses of the union. Thus, said the appellate court, the hospital didn't challenge the board's finding that Fallbrook "deliberately acted to prevent any meaningful progress during bargaining."

In May of last year, the hospital told the union that it intended to close the acute-care unit in which the members of the bargaining unit worked. The hospital argued to the appellate court that "changed factual circumstances" — the effective termination of the bargaining unit by closing the acute-care facility — justified reconsideration of the decision that the hospital must pay the union's negotiating expenses.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Writing for the court, judge Harry Edwards said, "This argument is not only meritless, it reflects real chutzpah. (It reminds us of the legal definition of chutzpah: chutzpah is a young man, convicted of murdering his parents, who argued for money on the ground that he is an orphan.") The appellate court upheld the National Labor Relations Board decision.

Fallbrook Hospital effectively closed in December, according to Vi Dupre, administrator of the Fallbrook Healthcare District. The hospital did not have the patient load to continue operating.

"You can't operate when you are losing money," Dupre says. A skilled nursing facility, which was once part of Fallbrook Hospital, is open, she says. Last year, the district looked for an operator to take over Fallbrook Hospital but couldn't find one. The hospital is "technically closed, but the matter has to go through the state healthcare officials, and we are waiting for a sign off."

The City of Fallbrook has opened an urgent-care center. People needing to be hospitalized, depending on their physician or insurance, can go to other nearby facilities.

Fallbrook Hospital has been managed by the publicly held Tennessee-based Community Health Systems. Its divorce from Fallbrook Hospital has not been finalized, says Dupre. There are questions remaining, such as who will pay the union's negotiating expenses, as the appellate court decreed.

Karen Higgins, co-president of National Nurses United, told a publication this month that Community Health Systems "is probably the most arrogant and lawless employer in the healthcare industry."

I have sent questions to the company and will post its responses as soon as I get them.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat

On May 8, Fallbrook Hospital (which closed in December) got a spanking from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In April of last year, the National Labor Relations Board had ruled that the hospital violated sections of the National Labor Relations Act by refusing to bargain in good faith with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee of the AFL-CIO.

In April, the board had ruled that Fallbrook "operated with a closed mind and put up a series of roadblocks designed to thwart and delay bargaining...there was no intent to bargain." The following month, the hospital appealed the part of the decision requiring it to pay negotiation expenses of the union. Thus, said the appellate court, the hospital didn't challenge the board's finding that Fallbrook "deliberately acted to prevent any meaningful progress during bargaining."

In May of last year, the hospital told the union that it intended to close the acute-care unit in which the members of the bargaining unit worked. The hospital argued to the appellate court that "changed factual circumstances" — the effective termination of the bargaining unit by closing the acute-care facility — justified reconsideration of the decision that the hospital must pay the union's negotiating expenses.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Writing for the court, judge Harry Edwards said, "This argument is not only meritless, it reflects real chutzpah. (It reminds us of the legal definition of chutzpah: chutzpah is a young man, convicted of murdering his parents, who argued for money on the ground that he is an orphan.") The appellate court upheld the National Labor Relations Board decision.

Fallbrook Hospital effectively closed in December, according to Vi Dupre, administrator of the Fallbrook Healthcare District. The hospital did not have the patient load to continue operating.

"You can't operate when you are losing money," Dupre says. A skilled nursing facility, which was once part of Fallbrook Hospital, is open, she says. Last year, the district looked for an operator to take over Fallbrook Hospital but couldn't find one. The hospital is "technically closed, but the matter has to go through the state healthcare officials, and we are waiting for a sign off."

The City of Fallbrook has opened an urgent-care center. People needing to be hospitalized, depending on their physician or insurance, can go to other nearby facilities.

Fallbrook Hospital has been managed by the publicly held Tennessee-based Community Health Systems. Its divorce from Fallbrook Hospital has not been finalized, says Dupre. There are questions remaining, such as who will pay the union's negotiating expenses, as the appellate court decreed.

Karen Higgins, co-president of National Nurses United, told a publication this month that Community Health Systems "is probably the most arrogant and lawless employer in the healthcare industry."

I have sent questions to the company and will post its responses as soon as I get them.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader