Nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital say they'll go on strike during Christmas
More than 130 nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital say they'll walk off the job if contract negotiations are not settled.
The nurses took the strike vote Dec. 12, with 96% approving a potential five-day strike to start Dec. 22 and run through the Christmas holiday until Dec. 26.
Why are nurses striking?
The 131 nurses at Lower Bucks, in Bristol Township, and another 95 at Suburban General Hospital near Norristown, took the votes to strike against Prime Healthcare, which operates the two hospitals. The nurses are members of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP).
Among the critical issues the nurses want resolved are staffing shortages creating "unsafe conditions," as well as better medical benefits for their own and their families' healthcare; wage increases; and retention of registered nurses whom, they say, Prime would like to replace with less-qualified staff.
More: What's at stake as nurses prepare to protest Lower Bucks Hospital?
After three months of bargaining, Prime offered a 1.5% wage increase at Suburban and 2% wage increase at Lower Bucks for each year of the contract, PASNAP said.
"This would leave both hospitals painfully behind area standards for nursing," the union noted.
Nurse speaks out about duties
Shirley Crowell, who has been an intensive care unit nurse at the hospital for 32 years, and is co-president of the hospital's nurses association, said nurses are forced to make up for staffing cuts elsewhere.
"We act as transporters, secretaries, schedulers, aides, janitorial workers, maintenance crew, phlebotomists, respiratory therapists, educators – the list goes on.
"We do this for the good of our patients, even as the number of patients assigned to each of us increases at management’s behest. It’s exhausting, and it’s unsustainable."
Prime says it's bargaining 'in good faith'
Prime spokeswoman Michelle Aliprantis said the healthcare company is negotiating with union leadership "with the goal of reaching an agreement in the best interests of the hospitals, its employees, and most importantly, those who we serve."
She said proposals to increase wages and other benefits have been proposed that would be competitive with other hospitals in the region.
"It is disappointing that despite progress being made, the union has walked away from negotiations and has chosen to strike, but that will not impact our commitment to providing quality patient care to our communities throughout the holidays and always."
Who will care for patients on Christmas?
Aliprantis did not say how the hospital would handle patient care or if patients would be diverted to other nearby hospitals if the contract talks do not progress before the strike is scheduled to begin.
The nurses have been working without a contract since their previous three-year contract ended Oct. 12.
Prime Healthcare operates 45 hospitals and 300 outpatient facilities in 14 states with nearly 50,000 employees.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lower Bucks Hospital nurses agree to Christmas strike
