Nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital ratify contract less than a week after authorizing strike
Less than a week after authorizing a strike, nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital ratified a new union contract on Monday night.
Five hundred nurses voted to ratify the 3-year contract, with 80% voting yes.
Prior coverage: Butler Memorial Hospital nurses picketing for safer conditions in workplace
'We knew when we came to the bargaining table that we needed, for the sake of our patient community, to do everything we could to retain our experienced nurses with meaningful protections from workplace violence and a contract that respects the expertise we bring to the bedside and the essential role we play in patient care,' said longtime ICU nurse Tammy May, RN, president of Pennsylvania Independent Nurses, the PASNAP Local at Butler.
The Pennsylvania Independent Nurses Association said the contract includes critical measures to increase the safety of staff, improved staffing, enhanced scheduling practices, competitive wages and benefit packages and the protection of nurses' pensions.
>>>11 Investigates Code Blue: Violence in Healthcare
The approval of the contract comes on the final day of National Nurses Week.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Medical Focus: National EMS Week
ANDRESON, Mo. — This week has been National EMS Week – a chance to recognize the challenge of responding to any and all medical emergencies 24-7. 'Nobody ever really plans to need an ambulance that day, for the most part. And you know, there's a lot of situations that arise,' said Mike Ross, Freeman Ambulance Svc. Dir. For Mike Ross and his 40 plus years of experience, that's most often chest pains. 'I mean, we're able to do a 12-lead EKG on a patient to see if there is an acute mmediate need, you know, for the cath lab. And then in that instance, we coordinate with the cath lab to let them know that we're coming. We actually send them a copy of the 12-lead EKG so that the cardiologist can look and see what they're dealing with, and activate the cath lab if needed.' The response area for the Freeman Ambulance Service covers every corner of McDonald County – and comes with a unique set of challenges. Medical Focus: National EMS Week Mobile MU hospital simulation stops in Joplin to provide specialized training Freeman Health System celebrates National Nurses Week dedication Healthcare workers advocate mental health awareness in May Freeman Safe Sitter program trains middle schoolers in CPR and first aid skills 'We have no hospital, actually, in McDonald County, but we have a lot of resources around the county in Northwest Arkansas, Joplin, that type of thing. So transport times are long. Turnaround time from leaving the station to getting back to the station on a call that is out in the county that may go to Joplin would be two and a half hours.' Ross adds that while working in Emergency Medical Service is a job – that EMS team feels a lot more like family. 'I mean, you spend almost more time with people at work than you do with your own family. And I mean, we're here for breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime, early morning, all times of the day. So there really and truly has to be a trust built and a camaraderie built for that type of thing.' And at the end of the day – it's all about a quick response and saving lives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Mobile MU hospital simulation stops in Joplin to provide specialized training
JOPIN, Mo. — Staff at a local hospital is getting a high-tech chance to train for a range of deadly diagnoses – before a patient's life is at stake. 'An amazing opportunity that MU brought to us free of charge to train our employees on maybe some scenarios that they don't always get to see, and give them the opportunity to do it in a simulation lab work with their teammates, their coworkers, and really address some maybe patient issues in a safe environment,' said Ashley Jones, Freeman Prof. Dev. Dir. It's a mobile training lab from the MU School of Medicine. Grant funding gives them the chance to travel the state, offering very specialized training. 'So one of the ones they're doing is a gunshot wound. So they can put in blood pressures and all of the vitals in there, and then the team can come together and assess, how are you going to treat, troubleshoot, and really look at all those components in almost looks like a real world environment,' said Jones. Through scenarios ranging from a sedation overdose to postpartum the simulated patient can be an adult or a baby. 'The infant is kind of the one thing that everyone's been interesting because we don't see it all the time. It is so lifelike that it is it's very odd to see that, you know, this machine, but yeah, it looks like a baby is crying, and you can see it heart beating, and those kinds of things.' Small groups work with the simulations – most often Freeman nurses. 'Some respiratory therapists came. Also some of the physicians have come, which is great, because they can come in and they're working side by side with these nurses and respiratory therapists, and they need to all know what everyone's doing,' said Hibes, It's an opportunity to experience potentially life threatening situations – and find a better path forward before a patient's life is on the line. Mobile MU hospital simulation stops in Joplin to provide specialized training Freeman Health System celebrates National Nurses Week dedication Healthcare workers advocate mental health awareness in May Freeman Safe Sitter program trains middle schoolers in CPR and first aid skills Medical Focus: Stroke signs and symptoms 'Maybe there's some scenario, a part of that scenario, that they can change up a little bit to maybe fit what they are used to experiencing, or have they had an issue before, and they want to now readdress it, and they give them a chance to pre brief, and let's talk about it, go through the scenario and then debrief what went right, what went wrong, so that they do see that they'll be able to maybe address it better.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
15-05-2025
- CBS News
Butler Memorial Hospital union nurses celebrate new contract
With an increase in violent assaults against nurses, doctors and staff inside Butler Memorial Hospital, nurses fought hard for change. Now, the nearly 500 union nurses who work at Butler Memorial Hospital have a new contract. The union president said this is a significant win for them, and 80 percent of the unit voted in favor of it this week. "Our main focuses were definitely on safety and security, and we made great strides," said Tammy May, a longtime surgical ICU nurse and president of Pennsylvania Independent Nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital. Less than a week after authorizing a strike, the union ratified a three-year contract with hospital owner Independence Health System. Instances where health care workers get hurt by the people they're helping are happening more frequently in the emergency department, and May said it's not OK. "I have personally been hit. I've been bit. I've been spit at. And it happens often," she said. "And it's just happening more frequently. Unfortunately, I had a coworker who was head-butted, and it was concussed afterwards. We had a coworker who was assaulted to the fact where she was head-butted, knocked out and proceeded to be kicked. We had a physician who had a patient who was trying to get a gun in because they wanted to shoot their physician. So, it's very scary." May said in the new contract, nurses got a lot of significant protections. There's already a metal detector at the Butler emergency room entrance. A detector will be added to the hospital's second entrance, and the third will be shut down to visitors. The hospital's also improving security staff training, and hiring another security guard to be in the ER. "They'll be able to help with additional wanding of patients who come in via ambulance. They'll be able to help secure patients who tend to act out a little bit more in their most crisis modes," May said. Nurses will even get more financial support if someone attacks them at work. "If somebody is a victim of workplace violence and is injured to the extent that they need time off, that the hospital will pay for that waiting week before workers' comp kicks in," said May. The hospital is also starting a workplace violence prevention committee, improving staffing and enhancing scheduling practices. May said she hopes all the union nurses feel like they have the respect and protection to want to stay on the job. "The safety and additional security measures don't just help the workers. It helps the patients who are there in their most vulnerable times as well," she said. The union nurses at Butler Memorial are trying to get the Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act passed in Harrisburg. It would require all hospitals and healthcare organizations to form committees like the one they're forming. The bill passed the state House last week and now moves to the state Senate.
