Dozens of nurses at Suburban Community Hospital in East Norriton, Pa., rallied Tuesday to protest alleged unfair business practices and breaches of contract by the hospital's owner, Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare, reports The Times Herald.
The nurses are represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. They claim that Prime, which acquired the hospital last February, has been understaffing the facility, and that Prime has refused to adhere to provisions of an agreement with PASNAP, among other things, according to the article.
"When Prime bought the hospital they promised everything — multimillion-dollar improvements, better staffing, better patient care and satisfaction — all lies," Victor Holubowsky, an emergency department nurse with 10 years of experience, told The Times Herald. "All they've done is increased patient dissatisfaction."
Last month, according to the report, a complaint was filed on behalf of the nurses by the National Labor Relations Board, and the workers hope for a favorable judgment by a federal administrative law judge in the next few days.
In response to the protest, Peter Adamo, regional CEO at Prime, released the following statement: "Suburban Community Hospital values our nursing staff and the compassionate care they provide to our patients. We look forward to establishing a new collective bargaining agreement in a timely manner and have been negotiating with PASNAP throughout 2016. We are also optimistic that the upcoming meetings scheduled with the union will produce positive outcomes."