Nurses employed by Philadelphia-based Temple University to conduct Temple Health's research initiatives have approved a new four-year labor contract.
The contract, approved Feb. 26, covers 23 research nurses, according to a news release from their union, the Nurses Association of Temple University.
According to the union, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, the agreement "confers respect" for members' role, "prioritizes staff retention and ensures continuity within Temple Health's research program."
"Temple is known for novel treatments," Gayle Jones, RN, research coordinator in thoracic medicine and surgery, said in the release. "We, the research nurses, are integral to the research behind those treatments. Every day, we help obtain clean, reputable data; increase patient safety, and make possible new medications and devices. What we do is so important. We deserve to be valued right along with the research, and with this contract, we are."
The new contract was approved about five months after the previous agreement expired.
Temple Health did not have a comment about the contract. Becker's will update the story if a comment is received from Temple University.