Saint Vincent Hospital presents ‘last, best and final offer’ to striking nurses
Saint Vincent Hospital on Thursday said it presented its “final offer” to the striking nurses at the Worcester hospital as the standoff hit 150 days without a deal.
The final offer to the Massachusetts Nurses Association comes after the hospital this week slashed services amid the protracted strike.
The hospital’s CEO said the proposal addresses nurse staffing, compensation and workplace safety.
“Our last, best and final offer remains generous across wages and benefits, and includes extensive investments in nurse staffing, building upon the hospital’s ‘very high’ nurse staffing rating by U.S. News & World Report,” Carolyn Jackson, Saint Vincent Hospital CEO, said in a statement.
“Over 200 nurses have crossed the picket line to care for patients, and we continue to welcome additional nurses each day,” she added. “It is time for the MNA bargaining committee to accept this offer or put it to a vote overseen by the federal mediator.”
The hospital’s staffing review found that its nurse to patient staffing ratios are in the top 75th percentile of peer hospitals in Massachusetts.
New staffing investments in the final proposal would place Saint Vincent’s nurse staffing in the 90th percentile in the state, according to the hospital.
These investments would include an increase of resource nurses, from 11 units to 20 units in the hospital. Also, there would be an increase in nurse staffing on multiple units, “ensuring that there is adequate nurse staffing even when the hospital is very busy and full,” the hospital said.
The proposal would also include a boost in wages of 8% to 35% between now and the end of the contract in 2024. They would also add a 3% lump sum bonus on hours worked in 2021 “in recognition of nurses who are returning to the hospital to care for their patients.”
After receiving the proposal on Thursday, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association said the MNA “won’t be able to comment until our full committee has an opportunity to review it and decide on a course of action.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3rX1hum
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