CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- University of Chicago Medical Center nurses returned to work Wednesday morning following a strike over staffing levels, but the issues remain unsolved.
A couple dozen of the 2,200 nurses who were on strike joined arms and walked back on the job after being out for five days - one on strike, four during which they were locked out. The hospital said it needed to guarantee a minimum of five days work to the temporary nurses it hired to fill in during the strike.
WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser spoke with oncology nurse Bridget Newton.
WBBM: Now the administration said no one won in this situation. What are your thoughts? What was accomplished, here, if anything?
"What was accomplished? That's a really good question. I think we let our viewpoint stand out. We had 1,700 assignments, despite objections, they did not even touch on any of those issues," Newton said.
The nurses and staff have been without a contract since April. A spokeswoman said since January 2017, workers have filed 1,700 reports of unsafe conditions to management.
The nurses returned to work Wednesday still without a contract and could strike again.
The University of Chicago Medical Center went on full bypass last Wednesday, two days before the strike. According to CBS 2, the hospital lifted the bypass Wednesday morning and resumed full trauma services.
The hospital had also closed some units, transferred patients, including children in the ICU, to other hospitals, and rescheduled some elective procedures while union nurses were off the job. According to the hospital, some of those patients will return to the University of Chicago Medical Center and the hospital will reopen units that were closed due to the strike.
"Our clinical teams, including our nursing leaders, are focused exclusively on helping the Medical Center rapidly return to full operations after the union walkout," said Sharon O'Keefe, University of Chicago Medical Center president, in a statement.
While staffing has been the major concern, the hospital told CBS 2 that staffing is not an issue, arguing their staffing levels are the best in the state and city, and that the number of staffing complaints from nurses represent less than half a percent of all staffing assignments during that time.
The two sides have agreed to meet again to resume contract negotiations on Monday, Sept. 30.
