Regional Digest

• Sacred Heart Healthcare System of Allentown (Allentown, PA) recently announced the latest in a series of moves to help bolster its home care services. Two services of Lutheran Services Northeast, the Visiting Nurses Northeast (VNN; Allentown, PA), and Hospice St. John will align their services with Sacred Heart, the company said. The hospice will remain a Lutheran Services operation, and VNN will merge into Sacred Heart’s existing home care program. About 95% of both VNN and Sacred Heart’s existing home care staff already have secured positions within the new program, a spokesperson said.

• Local 220 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has won a breakthrough first collective agreement for workers employed by the Victorian Order of Nurses in Sarnia, Ontario. The two-year agreement features wage increases of 10.5% over two years for the majority of members, the SEIU said. The agreement also includes ten paid holidays, a pension plan for full- and part-time workers, a seniority system, payment for travel time and mileage, a system for work scheduling and layoff, and recall language.

• THA An Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (Nashville, TN) and the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) have reached a formal agreement to offer all home care organizations in Tennessee a cost-effective alternative to accreditation from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). THA will serve as a liaison to CHAP in helping to coordinate marketing and education efforts under the agreement, provide user groups, and other efforts on behalf of Tennessee providers.