Hundreds of Everett Providence nurses prepare to strike

EVERETT, Wash. — Workers at Everett’s Providence Regional Medical Center say they have had enough.

Today the union announced plans to picket for five days after negotiations fell through last Friday.

The strike will last from Tuesday, November 14 until November 19, and will include the hospital’s 1,300 contracted nurses. Last month, nearly 97% of those nurses voted to authorize a strike after seven months of failed negotiations with Providence.

Faye Guenther is Union (UFCW 3000) President. She told us chronic understaffing is detrimental to both the nurses and the patients they serve. The union is asking for better pay and more staff.

Nurses told us they feel understaffed and unsafe. Some are ready to quit.

“Were I younger and less established…There’d be no question. I’d be gone,” says ER nurse Juan Stout.

Though many nurses are gone, Guenther said there have been nearly 500 nursing vacancies in just the last few years.

“It’s led to longer ER wait times,” said Stout. “Six, seven, eight hours.”

Guenther said nurse and patient safety shouldn’t be negotiable.

“Would you take your own loved ones to Providence?” we asked Guenther.

“I have heard people say that they would not bring their family here. To me that’s a very sad statement,” said Guenther.

Meanwhile, Providence said strikes are what diminish care.

In a statement, Providence writes in part:

“Strikes keep our hard-working and valued nurses from receiving the pay increases they deserve and delay much-needed support at the bedside. Strikes also strain the health care delivery system in our community and jeopardize vital care for those who depend on us… We are confident we will continue to provide critical services during the strike. While our highest priority is continued access to care for those who need us, the reality is due to the staffing challenges a strike creates, some services may be limited or closed during the strike.”

They also took issue with one nurse’s assertion that patient to nurse ratios can sometimes reach 1 nurse for every 30 patients. Providence tells KIRO 7 that this is inaccurate, and that the ratio is between 1:1 and 1:8.

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