Fighting for equality and respect
By Erin Grace
My name is Erin Grace. I am a wife, mom and proud nurse. I have lived and worked in this community for 20 years. My nursing career began more than 20 years ago in labor and delivery. Bringing life into the world was my calling. I helped deliver more than 5,000 babies, welcoming newborns and caring for thousands of families throughout Lane County and far beyond.
Three and a half years ago, I did a complete 180 and went from caring for people who are birthing to caring for people who are dying. I had a profound personal experience during the death of my sweet mother-in-law, Shannon. She died while being cared for by the healthcare professionals at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Health. Her nurse was Lisa, and she was an angel for us.
My mother-in-law was fighting stage 4 pancreatic cancer when her doctor told her and us that it was time for hospice. I remember feeling so angry. It was such a change. Going from fighting to what felt like giving up. Nothing could have been further from the truth.
Hospice changes from quantity of healthcare to quality of healthcare — from things being done “to you” to things being done “for you.” After living through the experience of my loved one dying at home the way she wanted to, I cannot even tell you the enormous gratitude I had toward the hospice model of care. Lisa came to our home and did everything that a hospital nurse would do, but in Shannon’s home. Lisa took vital signs, assessed and treated Shannon’s pain, her trouble breathing, her nausea, her hallucinations and anxiety. Lisa created a care plan that had Shannon’s goals leading the way.
Shannon wanted to spend her days doing the ordinary — shoveling bark dust with my husband in her flower garden, eating s’mores and singing along to guitar songs by the fire at night, enjoying waffles with my boys for breakfast and tea parties with my daughter, and crosswords and coffee with her husband. Lisa made sure Shannon could do all of these things until the very end.
After my mother-in-law’s death, I felt a new calling. To go from the miracle of bringing a life into the world to the sacred work of helping people leave this earth. Now, I am Erin Grace — wife, mother and hospice nurse.
The care our patients need and deserve
Even after being a nurse with more than 20 years’ experience, the learning curve to become a hospice nurse was intense: learning the different diagnoses that lead to hospice, what symptoms to anticipate and how to create a plan to manage my patient’s quality of life. You learn quickly that our patients do not want to go to the hospital, even though they are sicker than most of the patients in the hospital. They are dying, and they want to approach it their way.
In February, my colleagues and I went on a limited-duration strike to demand equality and respect from PeaceHealth. During our strike, I heard from a community member “I get why you are striking, you just want more money.”
Please let me be clear. This strike has never been about money.
I did not walk around 123 International Way for two weeks, not getting paid, for more money. And I certainly did not walk around those concrete sidewalks for the CEO to get another multimillion-dollar bonus.
The hospice nurses I work with went on strike because we know the working conditions needed in order to be an excellent hospice nurse. We know the care we want to give. We know the care our patients need and deserve. And we will fight for them to get it.
We know the care our patients need and deserve. And we will fight for them to get it.
We, the nurses doing the work, going into the home of your mom, dad, aunt, brother, friend, child, yes, and even sometimes unborn babies. We know what it takes to retain and recruit exceptional nurses to do this sacred work.
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, “You are a hospice nurse? I could never do that. How do you do it?” It is not easy. It takes a special type of nurse and person and not just any old nurse can do it, even if they have the skills.
But our employer doesn’t see it that way because they are not frontline caregivers and do not know our work the way we do.
My fellow ONA nurses and I at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Health have been working without a contract since the end of April 2023. We have been trying to negotiate with our employer since February 2023. We even had sessions with a federal mediator.
Our employer, PeaceHealth, has stated that the nurses who work in hospice and home health are “not real nurses” and they insist we are worth less than the hospital nurses across the street at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center and less than other home health and hospice agencies.
Because of the appalling disrespect PeaceHealth management has shown us, more than 30 great nurses have already left PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Health, and more will be leaving soon. Because of this, PeaceHealth — a billion-dollar corporation — is forcing the nurses left to once again do more with less. This directly impacts the vulnerable, homebound patients we serve; and we are concerned about the impact this could have on the quality of care that we will be able to provide.
My colleagues and I took to the streets to fight for equality and respect from PeaceHealth, because only when we get what we need can we give our patients the care they deserve.
I want your loved ones to receive the amazing and incredible care my mother-in-law received. Because that is what I want for my kids to get when I die, and when they die, and when their children die. We know what is right, and we are not helpless. We are stronger together. During our strike, I felt it and I feel it now.
As we get ready to head back to the bargaining table, I want you to know that your hospice and home health nurses will continue fighting and advocating for you so we can continue caring for our patients, their families and our communities the way we all want.
Erin Grace is a hospice nurse and a member of the Oregon Nurses Association at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Health.
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