LIHUE — Following a negotiation session with a federal mediator going late into Monday night, no settlement on a new contract was reached with the Wilcox Medical Center nurses.
On Tuesday morning starting at 7 a.m., 159 nurses represented by the Hawaii Nurses Association took to the sidewalks fronting the Wilcox Medical Center in a three-day strike that, according to the HNA notice provided to Hawaii Pacific Health, will end at 6:59 a.m. on Friday.
“The union’s decision to strike is very disappointing,” said Wilcox Medical Center President and CEO Jen Chahanovich in a statement provided by HPH. “Wilcox Medical Center remains open, and we will continue to provide high-quality care for our patients and the people of Kauai — it is our responsibility and commitment to our community. We are fully staffed with a temporary workforce of experienced nurses.”
“While we were not able to reach an agreement, negotiations continued with a federal mediator well into the night,” Chahanovich said. “We are still willing to negotiate in person every day for as long as it takes. We care for our nurses and value the role they serve on our team at Wilcox.”
One of the nurses on the line at the sidewalk, Aileen Head, a Registered Nurse in Medical Surgery and Postpartum, spoke about one of the negotiations’ sticking points.
“We love working at Wilcox,” Head said. “I get to retire here soon. I’ve been working here for more than 20 years, and I want to stay. I get so emotional because if you see us on the floor when we have 1-to-6 ratio — sorry, I have tears in my eyes — but we just keep going, because we want to take care of them, the kids, the patient, and you. But we can’t.”
“A 1-to-5 (ratio) would make us have more time so we can spend more time with them,” she said. “We can talk with them, and you know, share a little bit about ourselves, not just give them their medication and go. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.”
“We hope for 1-to5 ratio,” Head said. “That’s all we want. That’s what we’ve always been fighting for and we need that. We need that for Kauai, for the family, and to better care for Kauai.”
Another nurse, Jesse Dell, an Emergency Room RN, agreed with Head.
“We’re just focusing on getting safe staffing ratios,” Dell said. “We need to. We want to match what Oahu has. The facilities on Oahu are 1-to-5, or 1-to-3, or 1-to-4, and we are 1-to-6. That means one nurse takes care of six patients, and it’s been like that for a long time. It’s no longer sustainable. It’s not safe. It’s not good for our community, it’s not good for our kids, it’s not good for our kupuna. It’s not good for anyone, our nurses, anyone.”
Her message to the negotiating team is straightforward.
“Listen to us,” she said. “Listen to your nurses. Your nurses are telling you that they’re struggling, that we are struggling, and that we want to be able to provide better care to our community, and we need them to support us in that.”
And she had a message of gratitude to the community supporters whose honks pierced the morning quiet.
“Thank you,” Dell said. “We’re doing this for you. This whole thing is for the community. We’re running ourselves into the ground for the community — for you, Kauai.”
Wilcox Medical Center responded to the first day of the three-day strike with a statement.
“Wilcox Medical Center continues to provide uninterrupted, high-quality care for our community,” Chahanovich said in an HPH statement. “The temporary workforce of experienced nurses transitioned smoothly into the medical center this morning and are now working alongside our Wilcox medical teams to care for our patients. We are fully staffed. No services are disrupted.”
“Patients are unique and require their own individualized care,” Chahanovich said. “Each medical center is different with its own support teams. Our Medical Surgical unit is for a variety of conditions. That is why we are proposing to work together with our nurses to adjust staffing levels as needed through a staffing council using national standards. Patient safety is, and always will be our top priority at Wilcox.”
“We remain committed to reaching an agreement for our nurses,” she said. “We are planning to meet with the Hawaii Nurses Association today so that our nurses can benefit from a new contract as soon as possible.”
The nurses are scheduled to return to work on Friday at 7 a.m.
