About a year after a monthslong strike, members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., continue to face tension with hospital administration, nurses allege in a Dec. 17 Telegram & Gazette report.
Union members began to strike on March 8, 2021. The strike lasted about 300 days and ended in January after nurses approved a new contract.
Now, "it's as if we're still on strike but back in the building," Marlena Pellegrino, RN, co-chair of the MNA bargaining unit at the hospital, told the Telegram & Gazette. "You can still just feel the toxicity in the air. The goal seems to be to diminish our rights."
Ms. Pellegrino also called for a hospital leadership change, telling the publication she believes that is necessary for "a true healing process."
The hospital, which is owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, shared the following statement with Becker's: "Saint Vincent Hospital remains focused on providing exceptional care. We continue to prioritize fostering a collaborative care team with high quality nurses. Our culture is one of mutual respect for all employees as well as the unions that represent them. The hospital also continues to invest in equipment and enhance access to specialty services to care for our community."
Hospitals and health systems across the U.S. have grappled with workforce shortages and financial challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, some organizations have closed medical departments or ended services at facilities. Others have trimmed their workforces or jobs.
Saint Vincent nurses expressed concerns about various issues during the strike, including staffing and care access.
Nurses who spoke with the Telegram & Gazette allege that staffing continues to be an issue at Saint Vincent and make accusations of "corporatization" of healthcare and of implementing "assembly-line-type care." Nurses in the report also accused Saint Vincent of making changes without working with them.
Nurses began voting on whether to decertify the Massachusetts Nurses Association at the hospital about a year ago after C. Richard Avola, who was hired as a permanent replacement nurse at the hospital during the strike, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for an election. In February, nurses voted to keep their union and representation by the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
Read the full Telegram & Gazette report here.