Nurses at the Armstrong County Memorial Hospital officially submitted a strike notice Wednesday to hospital leaders.
In the press release, reason for the strike include the reported lack of nurse recruitment and retention efforts.
"Healthcare professionals enter the field because we care," said Maureen May, R.N., president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. "We are the primary advocates for our patients, and we don't walk away from that role lightly."
According to the strike notice, more than 40 nurses have left the Armstrong County Memorial Hospital, due to short-staffing and being underappreciated. They cite other hospitals hiring those nurses for $6 more per hour.
"We delivered the strike notice because we felt we had no other choice," said Cassie Woods, a 12-year ACMH nurse and president of ACMH Nurses United.
A vote was held in late-January to authorize a strike, which was favored overwhelmingly. The nurses plan to walk off the job at 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 13th.
Armstrong County Memorial Hospital issued the following statement to News Radio KDKA:
ACMH and the Union representing the registered nurses have been bargaining for six months over a successor labor agreement. While the parties have reached agreement on many issues, the negotiation has not been completed and the Union has now threatened to strike. Unfortunately, the Union continues to make material misstatements about the Hospital and about these negotiations.
First, it is inaccurate to claim that ACMH has refused to engage in recruitment efforts. The Hospital has been recruiting for vacancies on a constant basis. There is, however, a nursing shortage across Pennsylvania which has affected ACMH and every other acute care hospital. It is an injustice to assert that ACMH has "refused" to engage in such efforts.
Second, it is inaccurate to state that a strike will improve conditions at the bedside, or that this threatened strike is over patient care. The Union has no outstanding proposals that impact on bedside care. Rather, the disagreement between the parties is almost exclusively over money.
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