Nurses at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital in Kittanning, Pa., have submitted a strike notice to hospital management.
The nurses, who are represented by ACMH Nurses United, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, plan to strike March 13 unless an agreement is reached, according to a March 2 union news release. They cited concerns about staffing issues and called on hospital leaders to invest in effective nurse recruitment and retention efforts.
"Healthcare professionals enter the field because we care," Maureen May, RN, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, said in the release. "We are the primary advocates for our patients, and we don't walk away from that role lightly. But we will send a message, via a strike, that you have to do the right thing by your patients and your staff. This is our message — to the hospital, to the public — that we've had enough."
Nurses at Armstrong County Memorial have been in contract negotiations since July 2021. On Jan. 26, the nurses voted to authorize a strike, which allowed the bargaining committee to issue a 10-day strike notice, if necessary. The union issued a strike notice March 2.
In a statement shared with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on March 2, the hospital said a strike "will not improve conditions at the bedside."
The statement also said the only remaining issue in negotiations was "almost exclusively over money," according to the newspaper.
ACMH Nurses United represents 220 nurses at the hospital.