'Fight's not over' striking Lower Bucks Hospital nurses say as they head back to work
Nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital are scheduled to return to work Wednesday morning after a five-day strike without having reached a deal with the hospital owner Prime Healthcare Services Inc.
The 136 registered nurses at Lower Bucks in Bristol Township joined 96 nurses at Suburban Hospital outside Norristown in striking Friday following months of "contentious" negotiations with Prime, said Megan Gorman, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP).
The nurses asked Prime if the hospitals were for sale after reading a Philadelphia Inquirer story that suggested Prime was putting its Philadelphia area hospitals up for acquisition, but "we have never gotten confirmation," Gorman said.
More: Is Lower Bucks Hospital being sold? What we know
Three main issues for nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital
Shirley Crowell, a long-time ICU nurse at Lower Bucks, said there are three main issues the nurses have been fighting for and will continue to seek when contract talks begin again, most likely in January: wages, health insurance and staffing.
Crowell said the registered nurses at Lower Bucks aren't seeking higher pay than other nurses but they want their pay to be comparable to what's offered at other hospitals in the region. "We are grossly underpaid so we can't attract and keep nurses," she said.
Lower Bucks nurses currently start at $34 an hour while nurses at other nearby hospitals have starting wages of $39 to $46 an hour, she said.
Another factor is health insurance. Prime makes it "very difficult" for the nurses to go out-of-network for their own health needs, she said.
And the third issue is staffing. Crowell said Prime is replacing registered nurses with lesser qualified licensed practical nurses (LPNs) which means that the registered nurses still working at the hospital are assuming more duties.
"These are patient lives (being affected)," she said. "It's our friends and our community we're fighting for."
Crowell said the nurses purposely went on strike over the Christmas holiday weekend when fewer people are in the hospital.
"The fight's not over," Crowell said. "We are united and strong and will show them at the bargaining table."
Has Prime put Lower Bucks Hospital for sale?
Michelle Aliprantis, spokesperson for Lower Bucks, commented that the nurses "are heading back to work tomorrow, and we are continuing to negotiate." She referred questions about a potential hospital sale to Prime, headquartered in California.
Elizabeth Nikels, corporate vice president for communication at Prime, commented, "Prime Healthcare’s mission is to always do what’s best for our communities and patients, however, we do not comment on strategic merger and acquisition initiatives."
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lower Bucks Hospital nurses to end strike with unresolved contract
