Message from Sandra Bruce,
President and Chief Executive Officer

May 4, 2009

Dear Member of the Resurrection Health Care Family:

I am writing to you today about matters that are very serious to our health care ministry and the reputation of our Sponsors, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and the Sisters of the Resurrection.

For more than six years, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) labor union has been engaged in an extraordinarily negative and unwarranted campaign maligning the work and commitment of Resurrection Health Care, its Sponsors, employees and medical staff. The apparent aim of this campaign is to intimidate RHC management and Sponsors into paving the way for AFSCME to represent RHC as their authorized bargaining representative.

I would be surprised if you have not been exposed to the many efforts by AFSCME to create negative publicity and disrupt relationships between Resurrection Health Care and its physicians, employees, and the communities we serve. AFSCME has repeatedly published misleading and outright false allegations about Resurrection Health Care. We have repeatedly corrected these inaccurate accusations, yet they continue to be repeated to this day.

Recently I communicated directly with Mr. Henry Bayer, Executive Director of AFSCME Council 31, to answer a letter he wrote to me and to correct misinformation his union is disseminating about quality of care at Resurrection Health Care. [ Read a copy of that letter ]

The actions of this labor union may seem puzzling, but the experience of other health care systems like Resurrection Health Care throughout the country has been similar to ours. Unions now target certain companies and then conduct negative publicity campaigns to try to force the company to agree to a process that would take away employees' rights to freely choose whether or not they want a union to represent them. One of the things we have learned from our own experience as well as from other health systems experiencing similar campaigns, is that unions believe a relentless negative campaign will eventually succeed in forcing companies to negotiate with them without employees' voices being heard.

We have consistently communicated to our employees that they do have a right to choose, or not choose, to have union representation. We firmly believe that this is a choice that should be free of fear, intimidation or coercion of any kind, and must include a secret ballot election. Above all, employers and labor unions should not negotiate over the rights of employees without the employees' authorization.

I am passionate about the work we do at Resurrection Health Care, and I will actively defend our reputation in my meetings with community leaders, elected officials and others who have a strong interest in the success of our System. Beginning this week, we will start a new campaign in the local news media that will provide accurate information about RHC and the work of its employees and medical staff. Through these efforts, we will let the public know the real facts about our high quality of care and our commitment to being not only an outstanding care network but also an exemplary workplace, all in keeping with our Catholic mission and values. You can see the first communication in this new campaign here, and I will keep you informed as the campaign progresses.

I also invite you to look at quality.reshealth.org, which was developed to more fully tell the story of our commitment to quality, transparency and providing a great workplace. This online information includes employee testimonials that speak to the reasons we were selected the nation's 19th Best Place to Work in Healthcare last year by Modern Healthcare magazine. New information and communication efforts will continue to drive visitors to this website so they can see for themselves the breadth and scope of our commitment to excellence.

This is a time of great challenge and transformation for our ministry. I want to assure you that I will do everything in my power to defend and protect the reputation of Resurrection Health Care, and all of us who devote ourselves to the sacred mission of our Sponsors.

Respectfully,

Sandra Bruce
President and Chief Executive Officer