TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT 9.1 The Employer and the Union recognize the value and benefit of education and training designed to enhance an employee’s ability to perform their job duties. Training and employee development opportunities will be provided to employees in accordance with Employer policies and available resources.
9.2 Attendance at employer-required training will be considered time worked. The Employer will make reasonable attempts to schedule employer-required training during an employee’s regular work shift. The Employer will pay the registration and associated travel costs in accordance with Article 23, Travel, for employer-required training.
Hospital-Association Committee (a) There shall be a Hospital-Union Committee comprised of representatives of the Hospital, one of whom shall be the Chief Nursing Officer or 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.
(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:
i) 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.
ii) 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;
iii) making joint recommendations to the Chief Nursing Officer on matters of concern regarding recurring workload issues including the development of staffing guidelines, the use of agency nurses and use of overtime;
iv) dealing with complaints referred to it in accordance with the provisions of Article 8, Professional Responsibility;
v) discussing and reviewing matters relating to orientation and in- service programs;
vi) 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) Where 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.
Health Plan An appropriately licensed entity that has entered into a contract with Subcontractor, either directly or indirectly, under which Subcontractor provides certain administrative services for Health Plan pursuant to the State Contract. For purposes of this Appendix, Health Plan refers to UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company.
Behavioral Health Services Behavioral health services include the evaluation, management, and treatment for a mental health or substance use disorder condition. For the purpose of this plan, substance use disorder does not include addiction to or abuse of tobacco and/or caffeine. Mental health or substance use disorders are those that are listed in the most updated volume of either: • the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association; or • the International Classification of Disease Manual (ICD) published by the World Health Organization. This plan provides parity in benefits for behavioral healthcare services. Please see Section 10 for additional information regarding behavioral healthcare parity. This plan covers behavioral health services if you are inpatient at a general or specialty hospital. See Inpatient Services in Section 3 for additional information. This plan covers services at behavioral health residential treatment facilities, which provide: • clinical treatment; • medication evaluation management; and • 24-hour on site availability of health professional staff, as required by licensing regulations. This plan covers intermediate care services, which are facility-based programs that are: • more intensive than traditional outpatient services; • less intensive than 24-hour inpatient hospital or residential treatment facility services; and • used as a step down from a higher level of care; or • used a step-up from standard care level of care. Intermediate care services include the following: • Partial Hospital Program (PHP) – PHPs are structured and medically supervised day, evening, or nighttime treatment programs providing individualized treatment plans. A PHP typically runs for five hours a day, five days per week. • Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – An IOP provides substantial clinical support for patients who are either in transition from a higher level of care or at risk for admission to a higher level of care. An IOP typically runs for three hours per day, three days per week.
