Striking St. Vincent Hospital nurses brought their calls for increased staffing and safety to Dallas on July 7, where their hospital's parent organization, Tenet Healthcare, is headquartered.
Five things to know:
1. Seventeen nurses from Worcester, Mass.-based St. Vincent Hospital traveled to Dallas with a 16-foot petition signed by the 700-plus members of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
2. Nurses and supporters at the headquarters chanted "no more" as they sought to draw the attention of Tenet executives to the ongoing disagreements between nurses and St. Vincent, according to the Telegram & Gazette. Leaders of the bargaining committee aimed to meet with Tenet CEO Ron Rittenmeyer. Instead, they were met by Marie Quintana, Tenet's executive vice president of marketing and communications, who took a copy of the petition to share with Mr. Rittenmeyer.
3. The visit occurred on the 122nd day of the nurses' strike. On July 9, the nurses plan to head to the negotiating table with St. Vincent. The hospital put forth a new proposal July 6 that it said met the nurses' requests on four units and provided "meaningful compromises" on seven others.
4. In a statement to the Telegram & Gazette, a Tenet spokesperson said, "We've received the petition, but as the MNA knows, there is only one path to the best outcome for the nurses of St. Vincent Hospital, and that is to sit down at the negotiating table with the hospital team in Massachusetts to bring this to a resolution. We put a new offer on the table [July 6], which includes enhanced staffing on several nursing units and maintains generous wage and benefits improvements."
5. A Facebook livestream of the visit by the MNA drew more than 5,000 viewers, according to the Telegram & Gazette.