2024 Power 100: Dominique Muldoon

Photo | Courtesy of MNA Dominique Muldoon, co-chair, Saint Vincent Hospital Nurses Local Bargaining Unit at the Massachusetts Nurses Association

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By Emily Micucci

Dominique Muldoon Title Co-chair, Saint Vincent Hospital Nurses Local Bargaining Unit Company Massachusetts Nurses Association Employees 600 Saint Vincent nurses; 5,600 nurses and healthcare workers in MNA Region 2 Residence Winchendon College Mount Wachusett Community College Read all the Power 100 profiles here
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Dominique Muldoon paid one of the highest prices in standing up for what she believed in: She lost her job.

Though she lost her job as a nurse at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester this year, Muldoon is a force for Central Mass. hospital executives to reckon with. As the elected co-chair of the local bargaining unit for Saint Vincent nurses and member of the local MNA Board, Muldoon advocates for safer conditions at hospitals.

Muldoon represents 600 Saint Vincent registered nurses and a total of 5,600 healthcare workers and registered nurses in the region, in the struggle between hospital administrators and the union over what constitutes safe nurse-to-patient ratios. With no state law regulating the matter, hospitals have ample freedom in setting staffing plans in most units.

A labor shortage peaked during the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated a longstanding disagreement between hospitals and nurses on the matter, with Saint Vincent as ground zero over the last three years. Muldoon and colleagues led strikes from 2021 to 2022 against Saint Vincent parent company Tenet Healthcare of Texas.

After more than 600 complaints were filed with regulators about safety and care conditions in January, Muldoon and seven other nurses were fired. In March, the MNA filed a lawsuit under the federal Whistleblower Protection Act, asking the plaintiffs be rehired to their former positions. Meanwhile, the Mass. Department of Public Health continues an investigation into patient conditions at Saint Vincent.

Outside of Worcester, Muldoon and her MNA colleagues launched a coalition to oppose the closure of the labor and delivery unit at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital in Leominster in the fall of 2023. The DPH deemed it an essential service, which required UMass to develop a care plan for patients, even as the closure happened anyway.

Read all the Power 100 profiles here.