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I find myself bristling a little on what, in other ways, has been a pleasant Sunday morning. I just heard a radio message from Bonner General, announcing itself and in doing so emphasizing its role as a compassionate provider of health services for the community. In many ways, I would offer this is true and yet, in one particularly important area, it may well fall far short. There is within Bonner General, an incredible community resource, which we have come to rely upon and trust: its nurses. The dedicated and competent caring they provide is a story often told by those who have had need of it. Yet, there is strong reason to ask if Bonner General is really supporting its nursing staff in a way that enhances their ability to continue to provide this level of compassionate caring or do they act more in a way that attempts to reduce them into becoming just another laboring commodity to be used simply to maximize its own presumed operational efficiency.

I believe that it is fair to say, that over numerous years and bargaining cycles with the nursing staff and its union, the administration of Bonner General has taken on an unfortunate and less than useful adversarial stance in regards to the nurses, their concerns, and their working conditions. The level of discontent and frustration expressed by long-term nursing professionals strongly suggests that Bonner General has failed to encourage the personal respect and regard that is necessary to foster the caring and responsive environment within which these nurses can successfully continue to be the resource we have come to both know and depend upon.

You may question this line of thought and that is a good thing; it is only one person's opinion. But if you are really interested, ask a nurse who is now working or has worked for Bonner General. They may have something you really do need to hear.

CARL RENFRO, PhD

Sandpoint