Ohio Nurses Review - June 2022

Spiderman—a Nurse?
By Jeri A. Milstead, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, ANA Hall of Fame
Yes, Spiderman is a nurse! Introducing Phil Re, a 2021 BSN
graduate of the Ohio State University College of Nursing. In
a recent interview, Phil said he has always had a love for the
Marvel comic book hero. He even acquired a costume that he
wore on occasion. On Halloween, 2021, a rainy day, Phil donned
his costume and, with an umbrella in hand, walked across
campus. He approached people walking in the rain and asked,
“If you don’t have an umbrella, would you like to share mine?”
He was received by everyone with good humor and appreciation.
He continued to seek opportunities to make people smile and to
do small good deeds during games in the horseshoe and other
places on campus.
How did he think to combine a comic book hero with nursing?
He admitted to struggling sometimes in his studies and said
he was always “hitting the books” and often did not have time
to socialize with friends. But he noted that one concept kept
showing up throughout many courses: ‘dimensions of wellness.’
He thought one of these, Physical Wellness’ was the easiest
to relate to what he was learning. Then he began to consider
another dimension, Social Wellness, in light of the COVID
pandemic. That is, how people coped with separation and
isolation. During one course, students had to identify how they
actually could use those dimensions in practice. Phil realized
he had an opportunity to combine several dimensions and apply
them not only to his patients but to strangers. That is when he
began to don his costume and make others smile.
Phil is surprised that his persona has become so big. His nurse
manager at OSU Wexner Medical Center heard about his afterhours
activity, spoke to administrators about him, and the set
up an interview with OSU media representatives who, in turn,
set up an interview with Good Morning America. What does
he get out of being Spiderman? Phil says it is satisfying to do
small things that make even strangers smile. As for his nurse
practice in a medical-surgical unit that focuses on bariatrics,
he wants to continue to gain experience. He says his colleagues
are supportive of him and another ‘new’ nurse and their team
approach have helped them learn every day and have made the
transition to practice “easier than school.” He does not have a
plan for more education right now but does not rule it out. He
will continue to do Instagram posts.
So, if you are in the area of OSU and see Spiderman walking
around, don’t think you are hallucinating—you are seeing
a creative, caring Registered Nurse expanding the realm of
practice!
Small but Mighty!
By Tracy Zeller, BSBA, BSN, RN
Two local units of the Ohio Nurse Associations have something
to talk about! Mercy Allen Oberlin Hospital and East Liverpool
City Hospital have been able to make economic and fair labor
practice changes happen, proving that even smaller groups of
nurses have the power to achieve big changes. While nurses are
leaving bedside to travel or work in other aspects of healthcare,
those that remain at bedside continue the fight for fairness and
competitiveness.
Oberlin’s Mercy Allen Hospital was able to make significant
gains with their most recent contract negotiations being
primarily economic in nature. While the Oberlin ONA is
comprised of 30 nurses, their small union group has tremendous
power. Nurses there will be receiving 5-11% wage increases in
the first year of the new contract based on if that particular nurse
experienced pay freezes noted in the previous contract. The pay
scale cap also increased from 20 years of service to 25 years and
night shift differential tripling from $1.25, increasing every year
until it reaches $3.75. These changes will help the staff thrive
and make the hospital more attractable for nurses.
Over 100 miles away, East Liverpool nurses also fought for and
won against Prime Healthcare regarding not only economic
attractiveness but also fair labor practices. East Liverpool
Hospital employs approximately 125 nurses, having lost
approximately 20 nurses over the last few years. While slightly
larger in size from Mercy Allen, East Liverpool nurses still
showed their strength on a much larger scale by successfully
having the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) side with
them.
As previously discussed, the NLRB agreed with the ONA that
the hospital failed to properly compensate their nurses. The
hospital will be retroactively paying those nurses who were
employed between June 14th and December 13th, 2020. This
retroactive pay totals more than $170,000. The hospital must
also enter contract negotiations in good faith and have union
negotiators well-equipped with negotiation-related information.
Lastly, East Liverpool Hospital will publicly announce that the
hospital will not violate nurses’ federal labor rights and will
not prematurely declare an impasse in negotiations as they had
previously done.
Nurses within these two hospital systems should stand proud
that they fought for and won what they truly deserved. With
dedicated nurses, the “David’s” in healthcare can still stand
strong against the “Goliath’s.”
18 | Ohio Nurses Review | Volume 97, Issue 2 | www.ohnurses.org