More Than 800 Massachusetts Nurses Go On Strike

More than 800 local nurses in Worcester went on strike Monday (March 8).

Nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital took to the picket lines after negotiations broke down with the hospital's parent company, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, WCVB reports.

The Saint Vincent Hospital Nurses say staffing levels are hurting patient care, which has been made worse by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and they want to be assured that they won't be assigned to more than four patients at a time moving forward.

“The volume is overwhelming. Our computers don't work every single day. We come to work, and the infrastructure doesn't work," said Saint Vincent Hospital case manager Maureen Mulcahy.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association confirmed the Saint Vincent nurses voted to authorize the open-ended strike in mid-February, WCVB reports.

Nurses who worked overnight shifts early Monday morning joined the picket line after their shifts ended.

The hospital said it will use "qualified replacement registered nurses" in the absence of the full-time employees during the ongoing strike.

“Quality is the cornerstone of everything we do here at Saint Vincent, and our community can be assured that we have taken the appropriate steps to ensure we will be able to remain focused on providing exceptional, safe, quality care to our patients despite the strike action being taken by the MNA,” said Carolyn Jackson, Saint Vincent CEO, via WCVB.

Jackson said the hospital intends to reach an agreement on a new contract with the nurses union.

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