Letter: Kadlec contract dispute is a disservice to nurses

If Kadlec was a body, the administrators might be the head and the doctors the organs; but the nurses are the eyes, ears and heart. They drive the body, speeding relief, energy and compassion into every cell. Absent their knowledge and labor, the body sickens and dies.

The current contract dispute seeks to reduce vacation and sick days, restrict short-term disability, and doesn’t address the patient/nurse ratio. This may add marginal profits, but seems shortsighted. The costs associated with staff dissatisfaction, turnover, new hires, training and efficiency will likely exceed any bottom-line profits garnered by the new contract.

Businesses today emphasize profits to please the stockholders, often forgetting the employee and product. This single-minded focus loses sight of the fact that profits aren’t generated by stockholders, but by a desirable product, a motivated staff and amassing customers.

Benefits are a necessary cost of business that creates a workplace in which a dedicated energized staff can thrive, thereby providing a superior product and producing satisfied customers whose positive experiences attract additional customers — that leads to increased profits, and happy stockholders.

Simply put, take care of the valuable assets, the nurses, and the profits will surely follow.

This story was originally published December 6, 2015 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Letter: Kadlec contract dispute is a disservice to nurses."