After declaring an impasse on staffing, Santa Fe, N.M.-based Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital has told a union representing nurses and technicians that face-to-face communication is over, according to a KOAT report.
The hospital is also considering legal options to implement parts of the latest contract proposal without union ratification, according to the report.
The contract between Christus St. Vincent and District 1199 New Mexico of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees expired July 31 and the two groups have been unable to reach an agreement, and union members threatened to strike earlier this summer.
The president of the union said the hospital's decision is frustrating and disappointing, according to the report.