PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Early Monday morning, Providence Medical Group nurses officially went on strike at two local hospitals in Portland and Seaside.
Providence hospice nurses joined them in the five-day-long strike.
On Sunday, nurses said the hospitals covered walkways with curtains so picketing nurses could not see replacement nurses. Providence officials also said they were ensuring replacement nurses went through entrances away from striking nurses.
“We have seen them for this entire week shipping patients out to other facilities,” striking Nurse Molly Burtchaell said.
The strike began Monday at 5:30 a.m. and involves around 1,800 nurses. A KGW crew saw people picketing outside Providence Portland Monday morning.
“We are feeling demoralized,” Burtchaell said.
She said negotiations with Providence have been ongoing for nine months. The last negotiation was on June 8th, which Burtchaell said was 19 hours long.
Burtchaell said nurses are disappointed Providence has decided not to negotiate since then.
Providence officials decided not to negotiate once the strike was authorized, until after the strike was over.
Officials also said people should expect longer wait times at Providence Portland Medical Center.
Elective surgeries will be paused, the neonatal ICU unit will close and baby deliveries will move to other locations. Patients transfers from surrounding hospitals will also be diminished.
Surgeries that are of life-or-death consequence will be the only ones to continue.
“We’re doing the best that we can to continue to provide care for our patients,” Providence Central Division Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Gentry said.
Providence Portland provides services for 400 patients daily, Gentry said. 20 patients are seen daily at the Seaside hospital.
Gentry said Providence will continue to provide critical services during the strike.
But nurses and patients were not as confident.
“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Joe Smith, a patient at Providence Portland said of management.
Smith said he had colon cancer surgery this past week but decided to check out early because of the strike. He said he was unsure about the care from replacement nurses.
“I’m confident they could not be any better,” Smith said. “Because I could not imagine having better care than I’ve had for the last five days.”
Smith’s son, Jeff, said he will now take care of his dad.
“I’m a little emotional because my dad’s been dealing with cancer, been in the hospital for five or six days,” Jeff said. “The best part of that experience were the nurses. The nurses were the best part of his experience in that hospital.”
Providence said replacement nurses received orientation Sunday to acclimate themselves with the equipment.
“We have a very qualified, experienced nursing workforce to come take care of our patients,” Gentry said.
But patients’ families said they wished Providence would acquiesce to nurses demands.
“I think their most important thing they got to do is make sure that their most important resource is taken care of,” Smith said.
Providence officials said they offered nurses a 12% raise in the first year of a contract. In the following two years, nurses would have received additional 3% raises.
A Providence statement said their offer also included bonuses up to $2,500 and 30 additional hours of paid time off over three years.
Officials claim the average income of full-time nurses is $128,000 annually.
But nurses said their other concerns are not being met.
“They consistently are tone deaf,” Burtchaell said.
Nurses are asking for affordable health care, including mental health care, Burtchaell said.
She said nurses are ready to return to work Friday night after the strike but claimed Providence contracted replacement nurses until Saturday morning.
Providence officials declined to comment on the intricacies of the replacement nurse’s contract.
Officials said they are attempting to schedule future negotiation times once the strike is finished.
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