Wilcox Medical Center nurses vote to ratify new contract
COURTESY HNA
Unionized nurses at Wilcox Medical Center walked off the job at Wilcox Medical Center for three days in January. The Hawaii Nurses’ Association, which represents about 160 registered nurses at Wilcox, said today that 97% of them voted to ratify a new contract with Hawaii Pacific Health.
The majority of union nurses at Wilcox Medical Center on Kauai have voted to ratify a new contract after nearly a year of negotiations.
The Hawaii Nurses’ Association, which represents about 160 registered nurses at Wilcox, posted on social media today that 97% voted for ratification.
The new contract comes after more than 35 bargaining sessions, a three-day strike in January, and a Kauai City Council resolution supporting the nurses, HNA said in the post. During the strike, nurses had disputes with management over nurse-to-patient staffing levels in the medical surgical department.
The contract for nurses at Wilcox expired Aug. 31. Negotiations had been ongoing since early May.
“We are so pleased to reach an agreement with our nurses,” Jen Chahanovich, Wilcox president and CEO, said in a statement. “They are an integral part of the care we provide, and we are proud of the work they do alongside our entire medical team to care for our community.”
According to Wilcox, the agreement includes:
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>> Across-the-board pay increases that average about 3.5% annually over nearly four years.
>> Longevity pay increases for registered nurses who have 5, 10 and 15 years of experience at Wilcox.
>> A flexible staffing model that consists of an agreed-upon staffing matrix for registered nurses in every unit that includes flexible staffing levels based on the severity of patients’ individual medical conditions and needs.
>> A staffing council made up of Wilcox nurses and nurse leaders who will meet regularly to work on staffing issues and needs.
Wilcox officials said they would remain committed to ongoing recruitment and retention programs to bring in new nurses. “The Wilcox team is ready to move forward and focus on what matters most to us – our patients,” Chahanovich said in the statement.
