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WILKES-BARRE — For the second time this year, registered nurses at the for-profit Wilkes-Barre General Hospital could strike over understaffing that their union says puts patients at risk.
In a series of voting sessions Tuesday, the Wyoming Valley Nurses Association authorized its bargaining committee “by an overwhelming majority” to propose a strike date if necessary, said Alex Lotorto, an organizer with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP).
The committee, representing more than 400 RNs, has a scheduled contract negotiation Thursday with the hospital owner, Community Health Systems.
Elaine Weale, president of the local nurses association that’s part of PASNAP, said hospital management allows understaffing to continue and put the union in a position to possibly strike.
“While we would prefer not to fight, we remain determined to continue the fight for safer patient care for as long as it takes. Our patients’ care depends on it,” Weale, who has worked at WBGH for 37 years, said during a press conference.
CHS, a publicly traded company based in Tennessee, is the largest for-profit hospital corporation in the country. It’s struggled financially due to mounting debt. CHS has owned WBGH since 2008 and between 2015 and 2017 the hospital made a total profit of $11 million, Weale said.
“We believe an investment in hiring additional nurses, aides and support staff is about putting patients before profits,” argued Weale.
In a prepared statement, the hospital noted PASNAP has called five other strikes. Both sides have met 21 times since the contract expired Jan. 31 of this year and most of them have been under the auspices of the Federal Mediations and Conciliation Service.
“Rather than taking nurses away from their patients, we encourage PASNAP to take constructive action to reach an agreement at the bargaining table. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital will continue bargaining toward an agreement acceptable to both parties and believes our patients, community and staff are the ultimate beneficiaries when we work together,” the statement said.
Weale disputed the hospital’s commitment to negotiations.
“To date the hospital has failed to address our concerns for staffing. In fact, for several months they have declined to come into the room even to have those discussions,” Weale said.
Hospital ‘prepared’
If the bargaining committee chooses to propose a strike date, the union must take another vote to set the date and length. Labor law requires the nurses to give 10 days notice before beginning any type of work stoppage in order for the other side to prepare and bring in replacement staff.
“We are prepared to continue operating all services in the event of another strike by members of PASNAP,” the hospital statement said. “We guarantee that any RN who chooses to work during a strike will be provided a secure workplace free from union intimidation.”
The union went on strike for one day in May over the short staffing and its ramifications and was locked out for another four days by the hospital management that brought in temporary replacement workers. But to emphasize the severity of the situation, this time the union cited a report listing violations found during a September surprise inspection by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Ashley Weale, the union vice president and daughter-in-law of the president, said the report found there was an insufficient number of RNs and ancillary staff on 81 of the 148 shifts reviewed.
“Their report issued in November identified 91 open RN positions and the reliance on excessive use of overtime,” the union vice president said.
Studies have shown that for every additional patient a nurse must take care of in a Pennsylvania hospital, the patient’s risk of death increases by 7 percent, Ashley Weale said. For other states, research shows it between 4 percent and 6 percent, she added.
