Physicians who care for patients at Worcester, Mass.-based Saint Vincent Hospital are asking their nurse colleagues participating in a monthslong strike to end the walkout.
In a letter dated Sept. 22, the physicians cited concerns about staffing and patient care amid the latest COVID-19 pandemic wave.
"We are imploring you to end the ongoing strike and come back to work. With the recent elevation of the COVID-19 status in our area to level 3, long wait times at all area hospitals, and the need to have all beds staffed and open, we all need to be there for our patients, now more than ever," Bogdan Nedelescu, MD, wrote on behalf of the Saint Vincent Hospital medical staff.
The request comes as the strike at Saint Vincent approaches seven months. It has resulted in reduced services and the hiring of replacement nurses at the hospital, part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.
A primary issue stalling resolution of the dispute pertains to striking nurses returning to work in their previous roles.
At issue is a "back to work" provision that the Massachusetts Nurses Association says will displace more than 100 nurses, "replacing experienced nurses in positions now held by newly graduated or novice nurses working in areas where they should never be allowed to provide care independently."
The Massachusetts Nurses Association has filed complaints against Saint Vincent with the National Labor Relations Board regarding the hospital's actions related to the strike. The union contends those need to be resolved as a part of any return-to-work agreement.
Saint Vincent said it has offered several accommodations to resolve the union's issue of permanent replacements, including a guarantee that striking nurses who want a job will have one. Saint Vincent also vowed that it won't force any nurse in a current position to lose his or her role.
In the medical staff letter, Dr. Nedelescu expressed disappointment that the return-to-work issue is holding up a resolution.
"We know your bargaining committee agreed to the details of the new contract to end the strike, and we are pleased that the committee feels you will be well prepared, well compensated and well supported to deliver great care to our patients," he said. "However, it is disappointing that the only remaining impediment is the bargaining committee's demand that all strikers must be given their previous shifts or will not return."
Dr. Nedelescu encouraged nurses to come back to work because "it takes all hands to address our current crisis, and we need you."
As of Sept. 22, no new negotiations had been scheduled.