Nurses at Essentia-Saint Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth vote September 10th on a new contract, but their counterparts at neighboring Saint Luke’s are still in contract negotiations. Pete Boyechko with the Minnesota Nurses Association says one big issue is staffing levels. He says, “What I hear a lot of times from my patients is, when I was in the hospital, I didn’t want to put on my call light. The nursing staff was always pleasant but I could tell they were busy. Even when they tried to not show it, you could see the harried look on their faces.”
V-P Sue Hamel says Saint Luke’s continues to meet with the nurses union “to work toward a final agreement that is in the best interests of our patients and all employees, and keeps the cost of health care affordable.” The next bargaining session is September 9th.
Boyechko says he’s asked how the hospital will handle extra patients when its expansion is complete but “I have not gotten a solid answer on that once from any of our administrators.” Hamel says Saint Luke’s “staffs to volume, and we will continue to do so as we redevelop our campus.”