WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Hundreds of nurses are preparing to strike at a Worcester hospital Monday, saying the conditions created by the hospital’s out-of-state owner are hurting workers and patients.
Nurses at St. Vincent Hospital said they will start their strike at 6 a.m. Monday after negotiations with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, which owns the hospital, failed last week. Nurses said their biggest demands revolve around staffing ratios and patient care, and said during the coronavirus pandemic they’ve had to take on more caseloads with fewer resources.
“You cannot possibly provide patients with the care that they need, patients are putting the call light on and no nurses are available to come,” said nurse and union negotiator Marie Ritacco. “That is not appropriate, that is unconscionable for an employer making as much money as Tenet Healthcare is making on city of Worcester and off the backs of patients to allow that to continue day in and day out.”
Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren as well as Congressman Jim McGovern said they backed the union.
“This is a patient safety issue, but it’s also about our values,” the legislators said in a joint statement. “We respect our nurses, we deeply appreciate everything they have done for our community during this challenging year, and we stand unequivocally with them and their fight for patient safety and fairness.”
Tenet has said it will staff the hospital with non-union nurses if the union goes on strike. In a statement, a Tenet spokesperson said “This strike will only exacerbate divisiveness during a critical stage of the COVID-19 pandemic when we should be coming together to care for our patients and community. We value our relationship with all our employees and we are committed to resolving the contract negotiations.”
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