The union represents 1,500 front-line nurses at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, Ore., and Sacred Heart Medical Center University District in Eugene, Ore., and Sacred Heart Home Care Services. PeaceHealth, a nonprofit health system based in Vancouver, Wash., has medical centers, critical access hospitals and medical clinics in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Union members contend there are hundreds of vacant nursing positions at Sacred Heart, which can jeopardize patient safety and result in longer wait times and more expensive hospital stays. They are asking PeaceHealth executives to adopt safe staffing standards as part of a fair contract agreement.
PeaceHealth shared the following statement with Becker’s: “ONA’s rally is not a strike nor a refusal to work and will have no impact on the accessibility to or care provided at our facilities. PeaceHealth respects the rights of our caregivers to participate in these kinds of activities as part of on-going union contract negotiations. We remain deeply committed to our caregivers, and we are proud of the high-quality, compassionate care and service they provide to patients and the community. Our patients and their families can continue to count on us to deliver that care without interruption.”
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