ASHEVILLE – A month after registered nurses at Mission Hospital voted 97% in favor to allow a strike over pay, staffing and safety issues, a new deal has been struck between HCA and its nurses.
This week, Mission nurses represented by National Nurses United voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract with HCA Healthcare management, as announced by the NNU Oct. 9.
Since the last union contract ended July 2, nurses and HCA management have been negotiating over a new contract and in mid-July appeared to have gotten closer on some issues. But by the end of the month, local union leaders said there were still many disagreements, including pay, staffing, extra money for holiday and night shifts, paid time off and protection from workplace violence.
A post on the local union’s Facebook page in July claimed understaffing at the hospital meant no guaranteed food and bathroom breaks, saying, “We often can’t pee or eat at work because we are caring for our patients.”
Despite picketing and public outcries for better conditions, the agreement in early October came before any strikes were called by nurses on the bargaining team, even though the vote in September authorized a strike if necessary during negotiations.
“Mission Hospital is so important to Asheville and all of Western North Carolina,” Hannah Drummond, a registered nurse in the Mission catheterization lab recovery unit, said in the news release.
“This contract is another step forward to making Mission the hospital it needs to be for our patients. Nurses are the backbone of Mission Hospital, and this contract adds steel to our spine.”
Mission Hospital spokesperson Nancy Lindell confirmed to the Citizen Times Oct. 9 that a contract was ratified but declined to answer questions about the specifics of the contract.
“As we indicated all along, our goal was to reach an agreement that was fair for our colleagues and maintained the flexibility that allows us to operate in an ever-changing healthcare environment, and this contract meets those goals,” Lindell said via email Oct. 9.
“Now, as our Western North Carolina community comes together to heal from Hurricane Helene, we are eager to move forward together in providing high-quality care to our patients.”
More: Mission Health CEO Chad Patrick leaves hospital amid ‘restructuring’
More: Asheville Mission nurse strike vote days away; ‘can’t pee or eat at work’
NNU, which represents more than 1,600 nurses at Mission Hospital, listed some highlights from the new contract in its news release, including a prevision that may better allow for needed breaks:
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“Substantial wage increases” that include up to 29% for some nurses over the contract’s three-year term. This will hopefully “improve nurse recruitment and retention,” the release said.
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A pilot program for break relief staffing that will ensure nurses can take their meal and rest breaks during their shifts.
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New measures to ensure nurses are “floated,” or temporarily reassigned, to units similar to their normal specialty.
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Staff can use preferred names and add personal pronouns to name badges.
“We are excited to have this new contract and ensure that our hospital is on a path to taking the best possible care of our patients and community,” Huns Brown, RN in the pulmonary progressive care unit, said in the news release.
“The devastation Hurricane Helene brought to our region underscores how Mission being the best possible version of itself is more important than ever.”
More: Mission ER in Asheville overwhelmed after Helene, a mobile ER providing immediate relief
More: ‘They didn’t leave:’ Mission’s ER director describes hectic, heroic work for Helene victims
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. She is a graduate of Indiana University and was the Citizen Times Summer News Reporting Intern in 2022. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Mission Hospital nurses sign 3-year contract with HCA
