To the editor:

The editorial and article "FAQs on hospital's possible sale" on Sept. 19 about Cooley Dickinson's possible sale misinterpret the hospital's intent and the actions Cooley Dickinson has taken in negotiations with the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

The FAQs refers to the new contract "as a selling tool." The editorial states that it "seems wrong" for Cooley Dickinson Hospital to seek concessions from the MNA in return for a successor clause as we consider a change in ownership.

However, the fact is the hospital asked for the major changes it seeks long before a change in ownership was a possibility. In 2010, CDH asked the MNA for the same changes that all other employees made: A move to a defined contribution 403 (b) plan from a defined benefit plan and a shift from vacation, sick, and holiday time to earned time off (ETO). The MNA rejected the changes because we were mid-contract.

Now that we are between contracts, the hospital again asked registered nurses to join all other CDH staff in providing high-quality, affordable care for the life of the new contract by accepting a transition to the 403(b) plan for new nurses and ETO for all nurses. The nurses seek to preserve what they have negotiated in prior contracts, which conflicts with our goal of providing affordable care.

Affiliation is not the cause of the changes we've made with other employees and asked the MNA to make. Most hospitals moved from defined benefit plans years ago and many moved to ETO in order to reduce costs and keep prices affordable for patients.

Our nurses are critical to providing quality care and our outcomes are evidence that the nurses deliver on this. The high-quality care our nurses provide helps make Cooley Dickinson attractive to our potential partners.

The union contract is definitely not a "selling tool." By the same token, it should not be a cement anchor weighted with expensive benefits that could unduly compromise the future of our nurses, the rest of the staff, or the care our community counts on us to provide.

Carol M. Smith

Northampton

Carol M. Smith is the chief nursing officer at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.