Short Staffing Pushed Nurses to Launch Strike at Maine Hospital

Nurses at Maine’s Houlton Regional Hospital (HRH) will go on strike next week to protest the hospital’s failure to address staffing and patient care concerns.  

There are 55 nurses at HRH represented by the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC).

Why It Matters 

According to the union, the hospital’s emergency department is facing short staffing. Nurses said the hallways are full of patients due to a lack of available inpatient beds and the severity of their conditions.  

“I hope with the strike, the public and management see that we are not trying to cause problems,” Tenille Nason, an emergency department nurse at HRH, told Newsweek in an interview. “We truly believe in this cause. We truly believe patient care is suffering because they are not listening to what [nurses] are saying.”

This comes as nurses across the country have announced strikes amid ongoing contract negotiations. Nurses at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Michigan have been on strike for two months as negotiations over wage increases and staffing ratios continue.  

What To Know 

In September, nurses at HRH voted to authorize the strike after over a year of negotiations for a new contract. The previous contract expired last November.  

Nason has been a nurse in HRH’s emergency department for the past two decades. She told Newsweek that she’s very involved in the hospital but decided to support this strike because management hasn’t been listening to the concerns of nurses about short staffing.

Nason said that when she comes into work to relieve the night shift at 7 a.m., there are often only two nurses and 12-14 patients waiting to be evaluated. This overwhelms staff trying to prioritize who to care for first and often means there are not enough hospital beds for sick patients.

“Taking care of the patients properly when we’re short staffed is just not feasible,” she said. “We do the best we can, but it makes it very hard.”

She adds that HRH is a small hospital, but it serves several counties. Nason said patients and staff know each other and have seen patients grow from babies into adults.

“They know that I would not even think about stepping away from doing my job unless I absolutely did not feel that their safety and their care was at risk,” she said.

In a statement on Facebook, Houlton Regional Hospital said it has a contingency plan to ensure minimal to no disruptions in services. The hospital said it will remain open, saying it will continue to put patients and community members first despite the nurses’ choice to walk away. 

“Given the excitement expressed by our communities and patients, for our expanded services and focus on our employees, we are disappointed that the bargaining unit registered nurses have chosen to strike and step away from their patients,” Houlton Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Zewe said in a statement. “We have been meeting regularly with the nurses’ representatives and have made a fair and competitive offer that includes a substantial wage increase over the duration of the contract, along with enhancements to employee benefits.” 

The decision to strike also comes as the hospital’s announced the closure of its maternal services department in May. The hospital said there were several factors that made continued operations of an OB unit unsustainable, including declining birth rates at the hospital, difficulty staffing the OB unit, the high cost of staffing and maintaining the department and cuts in state reimbursement rates.  

“While the Board has delayed this decision throughout years of financial losses, these losses from the OB unit are a significant drain on the hospital’s overall financial performance, and one that would have a long-term impact on the hospital’s continued viability if not addressed,” the hospital board of trustees said.  

In April, nurses at HRH’s labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum department held a candlelight vigil against the closure of the department. 

Nason added that the absence of OB nurses in the emergency department has exacerbated staffing issues and puts patients at risk if nurses have to prioritize a mother in labor.

What Happens Next 

The nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital will go on a two-day strike at the hospital from Tuesday, November 18, to Thursday, November 20.  

“With the strike, we’re hoping to get better staffing so that our patients can be taken care of properly,” Nason said. “We’re hoping this allows management and everybody to see that we are fighting for our patients because we want to be able to provide the best care we can.”

What People Are Saying 

Michael MacArthur, a nurse in the HRH emergency department: “For the past several years, hospital management has consistently relied on travel nurses to help staff the hospital. We need to retain our experienced nurses who live in the area. We get plenty of nurses to come, but they leave. We need a strong contract that protects us and our patients and attracts and retains excellent nurses.” 

Houlton Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Zewe said in a statement: “Despite the union’s decision to strike, our focus remains on our patients and our community. I want to reassure everyone that our staffing levels meet or exceed national safety standards, as reflected in our strong quality outcomes.” 

Newsweek reached out to Houlton Regional Hospital for comment.

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