SLT Updates

Dear LifeLong Team,

We are providing this bargaining update as of Wednesday, August 2, 2023, to report on the current state of negotiations with UAPD. 

On August 1, after 17 months of being at the table, LifeLong advanced its Last, Best, and Final Offer, which you can find here. 

Below are some highlights:

ISSUES	LIFELONG’S OFFER TO UAPD
TRANSPARENT WAGES & PAY INCREASES	WAGES –  Option 1 (same as SEIU-UHW):  4% in year 1 (across-the-board) 3% in year 2 (across-the-board) 4% in year 3 (across-the-board)   Option 2:  Placement on a new, transparent wage grid with annual step increases with annual across-the-board raises.  Annual bonus of $2,080* for providers whose current wages exceed placement on the wage grid.
MORE ADMINISTRATIVE TIME	INCREASED FOLLOW UP TIME  – Increase in follow up time for medical and behavioral health providers.
	WORKLOAD  – Side letter establishing thorough systemic process improvements to continue to address workload issues over time.  At the individual provider level, this means creating a formal process to review and address workload issues and barriers, including reviewing templates, panel sizes, and support from other team members.  See detailed description in side letter (pages 19-24 of LifeLong’s  8/1/23 proposal to UAPD).
MORE SAY IN ORGANIZATION’S DECISIONS	PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE COMMITTEE – New committee made up of UAPD representatives and management to focus on clinical and operational issues impacting providers and develop plans of actions.
	LABOR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE  – New committee made up of UAPD representatives and management to continue discussion on issues of mutual concern.
NEW ADDITIONAL BENEFITS	COMPENSATION FOR LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY  – Differential of $1,040* annually for bilingual providers.
	CME BENEFIT – Allowance for CME money to be carried over one fiscal year.
	SABBATICAL – Entitlement for long term providers after 20 years.
	COMPENSATION FOR PROVIDERS ON CALL FOR HOSPITAL PATIENTS  – Increase compensation per weekend night calls by 50%.
	VOLUNTARY PROVIDER INCENTIVE PROGRAM – Pilot program that makes providers eligible for an annual bonus when they exceed the established billable visit threshold.
	LEAVE COVERAGE – Process for coverage for providers’ InBasket items if they are on leave for more than 2 days.

LifeLong deeply appreciates the dedication and commitment that our providers and staff bring to our patients and the LifeLong community. 

Sincerely,

David B. Vliet, MBA

Chief Executive Officer

LifeLong is recruiting its first ever Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB).  The establishment and scope of this position has been informed by the work and vision of the 19-member Reimagining/Re-envisioning DEIB Committee (RTD), the Board and Senior Leadership Team. 

The DEIB Director will establish the foundation for organizational DEIB efforts in alignment with LifeLong’s mission and core values. The Director will work in partnership with key internal and external partners to foster a culture of DEIB.  The Director is responsible for leading the DEIB committee to develop a workplan and establish key performance indicators; working with the Manager of Learning and Development to deliver training; and providing guidance and oversight of DEIB initiatives across the organization. The DEIB Director will also work with leadership to foster positive and sustainable systemic change in the organization to promote an inclusive environment for staff and patients. 

This position reports to the CEO, David B. Vliet with a strong collaborative “dotted line” to Human Resources.  You can find the job description by going to our Careers page  

Dear LifeLong Staff,

I wanted to give you a brief update regarding on the union bargaining and negotiations that are happening with the Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD) and SEIU-UHW (United Health Workers).

Union contracts are new for LifeLong. We have been meeting regularly with both bargaining units to work through and negotiate contract terms.  We do so in good faith and regularly keep our Board of Directors updated on progress.

Last week, upon mutual agreement with SEIU-UHW, we entered federal mediation through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS) to help reach a mutually agreeable and sustainable contract.  We are scheduled for a second mediation session today, April 19, 2023. Bargaining directly with UAPD is ongoing.

Recently the residents in the Family Medicine Residency Program (FMRP) voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR-SEIU) and we will begin negotiations soon. 

We respect the right of these bargaining units to bargain collectively and trust we can continue to engage in respectful and productive bargaining. We look forward to coming to mutual agreement on all these contracts.

Sincerely,

David B. Vliet

CEO

Dear LifeLong Team,

I wanted to let you know the Chief Operating Officer DL Poole, PA, LNHA, MPA, MBA, has accepted a position with a colleague Federally Qualified Health Center, EL Rio Health in Tucson, Arizona, as Chief Operating Officer (COO). His last day with LifeLong will be this Friday, March 24, 2023.

This change represents an excellent job advancement for DL, who has served here at LifeLong for over eight years, both as a board member then as Chief Administrative officer and subsequently as COO over these last several years. 

DL will be greatly missed.  His contributions to the organization have been significant and his hard work notable. I know I speak on behalf of the Board of Directors, Senior Leadership Team, and the many staff that have worked closely with DL that we have greatly benefitted from his dedicated service over the years. We are pleased that he will remain a leader in the CHC movement and look forward to hearing about his successes in his new role in Arizona.

Erika Simpson-Akpawu, MPH, former COO and CEO of the West Oakland Health Council, will be serving as interim Chief Administrative Officer until such time as we determine next steps for this role. Erika is a trusted colleague in the field and community with many years of experience, and we look forward to working with her on this assignment. She will join us this week beginning tomorrow March 21, 2023.

Please join me in wishing DL the very best in his future endeavors.

Warmly,
David B. Vliet, MBA

Chief Executive Officer

LifeLong Staff,

The Revisioning/Reimagining/Re-energizing The Diversity (RTD) Committee held the third of four meetings in-person in January. Formed to envision the future for an ongoing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging (DEIB) Committee, the effort launched October 2022 and by the end of February the group will have met 4 times, with each session facilitated by Diane Johnson, PhD, Founder and CEO of Mmapeu Consulting, Lifelong Medical Care’s DEI consultant. 

The face-to-face meetings have been important to create the blueprint, realistic timelines, and processes that will lead to establishing an ongoing a DEIB committee in 2023. The committee will make a set of recommendations that will suggest concrete plans to further DEIB work for significant cultural impact within LifeLong. The goal of the ongoing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee will be to serve as the organizational liaison, advisory council, feedback loop, and thought partner to Lifelong leadership that continues the evolution of this important work.  

This initial group, the RTD, is made up of 20 members from various departments and roles across LifeLong. After the final meeting in February, there will be a nominations and selection process for LifeLong’s permanent, standing committee.  The members of the new DEIB Committee will have 12 to18-month terms and offer guidance, thought leadership, and accountability for organizational and departmental DEIB work.  

Another exciting part of the ongoing DEIB efforts is the recruiting and hiring of a Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. This position will champion and support the mission, vision, and goals outlined by the RTD committee, working in tandem with Lifelong leadership and the newly formed DEIB Committee. The Director of DEIB will ensure diverse perspectives and opinions are incorporated, current and future priorities are identified, and organizational assessments will be conducted. This leads to collaboratively creating protocols and procedures, recommendations for specific activities, creation of success metrics, and crafting a DEIB workplan that is shared across and includes engagement of the entire organization.

We look forward to what is being created as LifeLong continues its diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging journey.

The RTD Committee

Dear LifeLong Staff,

We are excited to announce that we are officially going live with Coupa as of Tuesday, January 17th!

As mentioned, we are taking a phased approach to our Coupa project. On January 17th, all procurement users will be able to access the system to place and approve orders and a smaller group of expense users will be going live (Facilities, Street Medicine, and BSP). The rest of the expense users will be going live in the coming weeks.

Coupa will be our web-based system for creating purchase requisitions, initiating approvals, creating purchase orders to suppliers, receiving invoices from suppliers for payment, and submitting expense reports. Coupa will be replacing Bellwether as our purchasing system and Bellwether will not be available to place new requisitions after January 16th.

Please expect more emails from me (and others) as we prepare for our go-live date. We will be sending out Coupa Guides, Coupa PowerPoints, hosting “Coupa office hours” 2x a week, and Q&A sessions during the week of January 30^th.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our project lead Coupa consultant Jenn Irving at jirving@lifelongmedical.org or please feel free to reach out to me directly.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

Best,

Brent