ACMH Hospital nurses vote to authorize potential strike

A clash over wages and staffing has led to a potential strike by the nursing staff at ACMH Hospital near Kittanning.

ACMH Nurses United, which represents 213 staffers at the hospital along Nolte Drive, voted Wednesday to authorize a strike after being what they called “pushed to the brink by understaffing.”

“We simply cannot attract and keep nurses with the conditions at the bedside the way they are now,” nurse Mary Kilgore said.

“We want to provide better, safer care for our families, friends and community for now and for the future. To do that, we have to improve conditions at the bedside so nurses will come here and stay.”

The strike authorization by the nurses union paves the way for a 10-day strike notice — if they choose to go that route.

Hospital administration and the nurses union have been negotiating since July on a new contract.

According to the union, recruitment and staff retention are the main sticking points of the stalled agreement.

Anne Remaley, vice president of human resources at the hospital, said ACMH “unquestionably appreciates the efforts that its nurses have made during the covid-19 pandemic, just as it appreciates the work of all of its employees.”

In total, the hospital has just over 1,000 employees.

After six months of negotiations, Remaley said, the union leadership has failed to take a fair contract offer seriously.

“We need to continue to meet the health care needs of this community — today, tomorrow and into the future,” she said.

The hospital made a contract offer that would raise average wages more than 15% over three years, Remaley said.

“At the same time, while consistently working to staff in accordance with agreed-upon guidelines, ACMH has attempted to recruit and employ RNs in a market where a 30% shortage is projected,” she said.

“A threatened work stoppage does not help either side in a negotiation, nor the residents of the community that we serve and who are in need.”

Megan Othersen Gorman, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied Professionals, said 94% of ACMH nurses approved the strike vote.

ACMH Nurses United is an affiliate of PASNAP, which represents more than 9,000 nurses and health care workers across the state.

The nurses union rejected what they feel is a subpar offer regarding staffing levels, with union Vice President Jerry Dunn saying “nurses and patients have been battling this pandemic together, and we both need help — a lot more help than what the hospital has offered.”

Cassie Wood, a 12-year ACMH nurse and union president, said the staff can’t provide the level of care it wants when it is overloaded with patients.

“This isn’t a problem without a solution,” Wood said. “For far too long, nurses and patients have been devalued, and profits have been more important than people.”