More than 800 nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester went on strike Monday after negotiations with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, which owns the hospital, broke down.The nurses say staffing levels at the hospital are hurting patient care — something they claim has only been made worse by the pandemic. They want assurances that nurses will not be assigned more than four patients at a time. Jessica O’Malley said she cares for five people at a time when she works in the ICU.“It’s just tough — five people who want you at the same time, their family calls they want an update, it’s just tough,” O’Malley said. “The volume is overwhelming. Our computers don’t work every single day. We come to work, and the infrastructure doesn’t work,” said Maureen Mulcahy, St. Vincent Hospital case manager.The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the nurses voted in mid-February to authorize the open-ended strike.Nurses who worked the overnight at the hospital ended their shift and joined the picket line.The hospital said “qualified replacement registered nurses are fully oriented, trained and on the units taking care of patients.”“Quality is the cornerstone of everything we do here at Saint Vincent, and our community can be assured that we have taken the appropriate steps to ensure we will be able to remain focused on providing exceptional, safe, quality care to our patients despite the strike action being taken by the MNA,” said Carolyn Jackson, Saint Vincent CEO. Jackson said the hospital remains hopeful that it can reach an agreement with the union for a new contract.Tenet Healthcare said the strike is exacerbating “divisiveness during a critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.”“This is a strike for the safety of our patients and our community” said nurse Marlena Pellegrino, co-chair of the local bargaining unit of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. “We are sad to see that Tenet holds so little value for our patients, yet we are resolved to do whatever it takes for as long as it take to protect our patients, as it is safer to strike now than allow Tenet to continue endangering our patients every day on every shift.”The planned strike comes as tensions between the hospital and nurses union appeared to be increasing. In a letter shared with the media on Friday, Jackson alleged a series of “intolerable incidents of bullying and intimidation” by Massachusetts Nurses Association union representatives and its members related to the impending strike and negotiations with the hospital.Jackson said in a recent Zoom call involving Saint Vincent nurses, participants were told that those who cross the picket line would be identified with their names posted online for the purpose of subjecting them to intimidation.The CEO also said nurses who have publicly opposed the strike have been subject to online abuse and threats on social media. Latest coronavirus stories:
More than 800 nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester went on strike Monday after negotiations with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, which owns the hospital, broke down.
The nurses say staffing levels at the hospital are hurting patient care — something they claim has only been made worse by the pandemic. They want assurances that nurses will not be assigned more than four patients at a time.
Jessica O’Malley said she cares for five people at a time when she works in the ICU.
“It’s just tough — five people who want you at the same time, their family calls they want an update, it’s just tough,” O’Malley said.
“The volume is overwhelming. Our computers don’t work every single day. We come to work, and the infrastructure doesn’t work,” said Maureen Mulcahy, St. Vincent Hospital case manager.
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The Massachusetts Nurses Association said the nurses voted in mid-February to authorize the open-ended strike.
Nurses who worked the overnight at the hospital ended their shift and joined the picket line.
The hospital said “qualified replacement registered nurses are fully oriented, trained and on the units taking care of patients.”
“Quality is the cornerstone of everything we do here at Saint Vincent, and our community can be assured that we have taken the appropriate steps to ensure we will be able to remain focused on providing exceptional, safe, quality care to our patients despite the strike action being taken by the MNA,” said Carolyn Jackson, Saint Vincent CEO.
Jackson said the hospital remains hopeful that it can reach an agreement with the union for a new contract.
Tenet Healthcare said the strike is exacerbating “divisiveness during a critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“This is a strike for the safety of our patients and our community” said nurse Marlena Pellegrino, co-chair of the local bargaining unit of the Massachusetts Nurses Association. “We are sad to see that Tenet holds so little value for our patients, yet we are resolved to do whatever it takes for as long as it take to protect our patients, as it is safer to strike now than allow Tenet to continue endangering our patients every day on every shift.”
The planned strike comes as tensions between the hospital and nurses union appeared to be increasing.
In a letter shared with the media on Friday, Jackson alleged a series of “intolerable incidents of bullying and intimidation” by Massachusetts Nurses Association union representatives and its members related to the impending strike and negotiations with the hospital.
Jackson said in a recent Zoom call involving Saint Vincent nurses, participants were told that those who cross the picket line would be identified with their names posted online for the purpose of subjecting them to intimidation.
The CEO also said nurses who have publicly opposed the strike have been subject to online abuse and threats on social media.
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