STANFORD, Calif-- Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Hospital & Clinics announce a new contract agreement with employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 715.  The SEIU membership, representing 1,412 out of 8,432 employees at the hospitals in jobs such as housekeeping, food service, nursing assistants, and various technicians, ratified the contract in a vote today.   "We are incredibly pleased to have reached an agreement for a three-year contract with the SEIU,” said Martha H. Marsh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Christopher Dawes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Packard Children’s.  “This contract preserves the hospitals’ ability to maintain high quality patient care and provides employees substantial wage and benefit increases. With this new contract, everyone wins – our employees, our patients, and our community.”   Negotiations on the new agreement began last September and have continued since.  Highlights of the new contract include: Increased wages over three years averaging at least 12% An additional 2.5% to 10% salary adjustment for many job positions Continued 100% employer paid health coverage for employees and their children, 75% employer paid health coverage for spouses 100% employer paid health coverage for spouses of employees earning less than $50,000 a year  Increased retirement contributions for employees with 15 years or more service Increased on-call and call-back pay and added assurances related to job security and planned growth “We wish to thank our SEIU employees and its leadership,” said Marsh and Dawes.  “There could not have been an agreement without their support and dedication to the patients and families we serve.  We value all of our employees and are pleased that we could reach a contract agreement that is fair and equitable for all."   About Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Ranked as one of the nation's top 10 pediatric hospitals by U.S.News & World Report, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with the Stanford School of Medicine, Packard Children's Hospital offers patients locally, regionally and nationally the full range of health-care programs and services from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit http://www.lpch.org.   About Stanford Hospital Stanford Hospital & Clinics is a university-owned, non-profit corporation known for advanced patient care.  The 613-bed hospital in Northern California consistently ranks among the top in the nation in surveys by consumers and health professionals. Stanford Hospital & Clinics, in cooperation with the Stanford University Medical School, has pioneered medical advances that save lives and protect against disease. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.stanfordhospital.com.

Media Contact: Sarah Staley sstaley@lpch.org (650) 724-4506 Media Contact: Robert Dicks rdicks@lpch.org (650) 497-8364 Media Contact: Andrea Smith ansmith@stanfordmed.org (650) 723-1260