Providence RN and ONA Executive Committee Co-chair Brittany Foss speaks at a gathering in July. Foss and the ONA represented 150 nurses looking for better working conditions at Hood River Providence Memorial Hospital.
Providence RN and ONA Executive Committee Co-chair Brittany Foss speaks at a gathering in July. Foss and the ONA represented 150 nurses looking for better working conditions at Hood River Providence Memorial Hospital.
HOOD RIVER — On Oct. 20, nurses at the Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital voted to approve a new two-year contract. Negotiations between Providence and the Oregon Nurses Association — who represented 150 nurses working at Providence Hood River — lasted seven months before the two sides could find common ground on multiple points of contention.
“I’m proud of the courageous nurses who stood up to fight for our patients, for each other and for individuals and families throughout the Gorge. One contract can’t solve all the problems we face, but this agreement is a clear win for our community,” said Brittany Foss, RN, ONA executive committee co-chair at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital.
The contract raises staffing standards and improves patient care by ensuring nurses have adequate skills, time and training needed to appropriately attend to patients. Health insurance cost increases will be capped and a new task force will be created to study ways to reduce health insurance costs and improve care for all workers.
Over the last seven months, the ONA held two informational pickets to highlight allegedly unsafe working conditions and low wages. As part of the agreement, over the next two years nurses will receive annual wage increases that will range between 14% to 21%. The most significant wage increases will go to the lowest paid nurses.
In a press release after negotiations concluded, Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital stated, “We are pleased that Providence Hood River’s nurses, represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, voted to approve a new two-year contract, which runs through March 31, 2024.
"Both parties participated in bargaining sessions for the past eight months and have worked through the contract terms of wages, staffing and the work environment. We are proud of the hard work the Providence Hood River leadership and the Oregon Nurses Association teams did to negotiate the new contract.
"Our nurses are a critical part of the team that provides the high quality, mission-focused care we deliver every day.”
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