FLORENCE, Ore. – On May 1, registered nurses at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center will join community supporters in an informational picket about hospital staffing concerns and health care provider recruitment and retention at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center.
WHEN: Monday, May 1, 2017, 8 – 10 a.m. and Noon – 2 p.m.
WHERE: Intersection of US 101 and Oregon 126 in Florence, OR
WHO: Registered nurses from PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center, represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), and local community members
WHY: Nurses at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center have been in contract negotiations with PeaceHealth’s corporate managers over hospital staffing issues, working conditions and health care provider recruitment and retention since November 2016.
Despite repeated bargaining sessions and two meetings with a federal mediator, PeaceHealth’s corporate managers have made few concessions and refused to make meaningful progress on a fair contract that addresses nurses’ primary community health concerns; including ending excessive call requirements, correcting below-market wages, improving patient and staff safety and increasing provider recruitment and retention.
“Florence is already experiencing a shortage of primary care providers. Unless we act now, nurses will be the next health care providers to go,” said home health nurse and ONA member at Peace Harbor Kathy Callis, RN. “In my unit, we’ve seen significant turnover in just the last two years. We can’t keep providing the care our community deserves at this rate.”
“Nurses are proud of where we work and the care we give our patients,” said surgical services nurse and ONA member Sandy Fleetwood, RN. “We understand how important this hospital is to our community and our community understands how important its nurses are to the hospital. That’s why we’re standing together and calling on PeaceHealth to work with nurses to make sure we can continue providing award-winning health care in Florence both now and in the future.”
Nurses have been working without a contract since January 2017. Since bargaining began, nurses have volunteered more than 400 hours to try to reach a fair contract agreement with PeaceHealth’s corporate managers that prioritizes patient safety and helps attract and keep registered nurses in Florence.
ONA represents 75 nurses at PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center and more than 13,500 nurses statewide. It was founded in 1904 as the professional association for nurses in Oregon. ONA is a nonprofit association and a labor union representing nurses. Its mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit www.OregonRN.org.
