Hosts Marion Leary, PhD, MPH, RN and Rebecca Love, RN, MSN, FIEL welcome Shannon Vieira, RN and Kara Wilson, OT of MGB Home Care for an urgent conversation about one of the largest healthcare strikes in Massachusetts history. On July 8th, home care nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, dietitians, and speech-language pathologists will walk off the job for seven days. On the same day, inpatient nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital will also strike — and the hospital has announced it will lock them out for an additional four days. In this episode, Shannon and Kara walk through the changes to their working conditions that led up to the strike, the caseloads pushing home care clinicians past safe practice limits (up to 50 patients per clinician), the growing wage gap between frontline workers and executives at the seventh-wealthiest hospital system in the U.S., and what they're actually asking for. Marion and Rebecca connect the dots between staffing, cost of living, hospital economics, and the future of the healthcare workforce. Whether you work in home care, hospital nursing, or any patient-facing role, this conversation explains exactly why nurses and their colleagues across Massachusetts are drawing a line — and why the rest of the country is watching. Jump Ahead 00:58 — Welcome and introducing Shannon Vieira and Kara Wilson02:10 — What led up to the strike: the point system, salaried pay, and lost overtime03:22 — A new CNO, efficiency mandates, and a 20-25% productivity jump04:13 — The UKG clock-in revelation05:21 — Is this the first home care strike of its kind?06:08 — The parallel Brigham and Women's inpatient nurse strike07:04 — Same-day strike, plus a four-day hospital lockout08:09 — Why the lockout feels like a strong-arm tactic09:30 — Why nurses across the country are watching this strike so closely10:29 — Caseload realities on the OT side: 34 patients in 32 hours11:49 — Why home care is more than face time with the patient13:39 — What Shannon and Kara are asking for14:18 — The safe caseload research: 25 max, 18 ideal15:59 — Sicker patients, faster discharges, and 30-day readmission risk17:19 — The executive pay disparity and MGB's $35.8B in assets18:10 — MGB reported $2 billion in net gains last year19:12 — Why Boston's 53% higher cost of living matters21:58 — Retention, hourly rate math, and clinician burnout23:30 — Who sits on the MGB board of directors26:07 — Shannon's final thought: the unionization wave was created by MGB26:35 — Kara's final thought: self-care as patient care27:55 — Marion's closing: "The people united will never be defeated"Listen now at nurse.org/news/love-n-leary-nursing-podcast. 🎙️ About The Love & Leary Podcast Thank you for tuning in to The Love n' Leary Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and share it with a colleague. 🌐 Connect With Us Official Website: Visit nurse.org/lovenleary for episodes, articles, and exclusive nursing resources.Watch on YouTube: Subscribe to Love n' Leary Podcast YouTube to watch full video episodes and highlights.👥 Follow the Hosts on LinkedIn Stay connected, network, and join the conversation with us professionally: Connect with Rebecca: Rebecca Love on LinkedInConnect with Marion: Marion Leary on LinkedInAbout Nurse.org: Empowering, entertaining, and uniting nurses worldwide. Explore more career guides, news, and community stories at Nurse.org.
