Sacred Heart nurses march for better benefits, working conditions

Hundreds of nurses gathered in a show of solidarity Tuesday morning in Riverfront Park, demanding better wages and working conditions from Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Officials from Sacred Heart and the Washington State Nurses Association have met 13 times since December, but they haven’t reached an agreement on a new contract for the union’s 1,787 Sacred Heart nurses. The main sticking points, nurses said, are chronically low staffing levels and diminishing benefits packages.

“We need to see the bleeding stop,” said Linda Jones, a Sacred Heart nurse and union organizer.

Providence spokeswoman Liz DeRuyter said hospital administrators would not comment on the ongoing negotiations.

In a statement, she said, “Sacred Heart has worked hard to provide our nurses with excellent wages and benefits so that we can continue to hire the most qualified nurses and deliver exceptional health care to those who depend on us.”

Nurses said they are too few in number to safely care for patients, especially those with psychiatric issues.

In March, a patient at Sacred Heart allegedly sneaked up on a nurse, held her arms and tried to suffocate her by placing sanitation wipes over her mouth and nose. She yelled for help 10 times before other staff arrived to assist her, according to court documents.

Margit Walker, a nurse in the hospital’s respiratory ward, said assaults are becoming more common.

“Frequently we’re having nurses punched in the face, kicked, bitten,” she said. “We are chronically short-staffed.”

Barry Morris, a night-shift nurse on the orthopedic floor, said current staffing levels also make it difficult to take prescribed meal and rest breaks.

“They feel it’s cheaper just to pay the overtime than to incur the cost of training new people and giving them health benefits,” Morris said, adding that he often feels obligated to work overtime.

The nurses’ old contract was temporarily extended until the union and the hospital reach an agreement. The nurses association said in a statement that Providence’s proposals would allow the company to reduce nurses’ benefit packages over the life of the contract.

“Our deductibles are high and our premiums are low, and that’s a reversal of what it used to be,” said Jones, who has worked at Sacred Heart for 30 years.

Nurses embarked on a “solidarity stroll” around the park Tuesday, joined by members of other unions and a few political candidates, including Democratic congressional challenger Joe Pakootas. The nurses also demonstrated last month outside the hospital.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume June 28 with a federal mediator.