Hospital Association Committee

HOSPITAL-ASSOCIATION COMMITTEE TERMS OF REFERENCE*

A) There shall be a Hospital-Association Committee comprised of representatives of the Hospital, one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Executive or nursing designate and of the Union, one of whom shall be the Bargaining Unit President or designate. The number of representatives is set out in the Appendix of Local Provisions and the membership of the Committee may be expanded by mutual agreement.
[Appendix of Local Provisions C-3 – There shall be a Hospital-Association Committee as provided for in Article 6.03 composed of the Chairperson, Bargaining Unit President, two (2) full time employees (one of whom may be part time) and four (4) Hospital representatives.] Should either the Union or Hospital wish to increase the number of members attending, the Chair of party making the request must notify the Chair of the other party forty-eight (48) hours in advance.]

B) The Committee shall meet every two (2) months unless otherwise agreed and as required under Article 8.01 (a) (iv). The duties of Chair and Secretary shall alternate between the parties. Where possible, agenda items will be exchanged in writing at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. A record shall be maintained of matters referred to the Committee and the recommended disposition, if any, unless agreed to the contrary. Copies of the record shall be provided to Committee members.

C) The purpose of the Committee includes:

• Promoting and providing effective and meaningful communication of information and ideas, including but not limited to workload measurement tools and the promotion of best practices. Such communication may include discussion of nursing workload measurement and patient acuity systems. The Hospital will provide, upon request, information on workload measurement systems applicable to nursing currently used by the Hospital, and evaluations completed by the Hospital of such systems;
• Reviewing professional responsibility complaints with a view to identifying trends and sharing organizational successes and solutions, making joint recommendations on matters of concern including the quality and quantity of nursing care and discussing the development and implementation of quality initiatives;
• Making joint recommendations to the Chief Nursing Executive; on matters of concern regarding recurring workload issues including the development of staffing guidelines, the use of agency nurses and use of overtime;
• Dealing with complaints referred to in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, Professional Responsibility;
• Discussing and reviewing matters relating to orientation and inservice programs;
• Promote the creation of full time positions for nurses, and discuss the effect of such changes on the employment status of the nurses. This may include the impact, if any, on part time and full time, job sharing and retention and recruitment.

D) The Hospital agrees to pay for time spent during regular working hours for representatives of the Union attending at such meetings.

E) When a Committee representative designated by the Union attends Committee meetings outside of her or his regularly scheduled hours, she or he will be paid for all time spent in attendance at such meetings at her or his regular straight time hourly rate of pay. Such payment shall be limited to two (2) Committee representatives per meeting.

* O.N.A. Full Time Collective Agreement – Expiry March 31, 2020, Article 6.03 & Appendix 5 of Local Provisions –
Expiry March 31, 2020