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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Nurses at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital plan to strike later this month over staffing and patient safety concerns, their union announced Tuesday.</p><p>Hospital officials, meanwhile, say they are prepared to maintain operations &#8212; as they did during a one-day strike and succeeding lockout at sister facilities last month.</p><p>The nurses, represented by PASNAP, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, say they are prepared to hold a one-day walkout May 31.</p><p>Contract negotiations were being held Tuesday, and union officials said they offered to meet with hospital administration any time up until the strike to resolve issues.</p><p>&#8220;A strike is always a last resort,&#8221; said registered nurse and PASNAP local president Elaine Weale. &#8220;But these are serious issues that impact patient safety. We feel we have to stand up and fight for the quality of care that our patients need and deserve.&#8221;</p><p>The hospital is owned by Tennessee-based Community Health Systems (CHS), a for-profit operator of 126 hospitals in 20 states, including WBGH, First Hospital in Kingston and Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton.</p><p>&#8220;A contingency operations plan will be implemented, in the event the strike does occur, to ensure continuation of quality services,&#8221; a statement released by a hospital spokeswoman read. &#8220;As always, our top priority is the care and safety of our patients, employees and visitors wherever such activity may occur.&#8221;</p><p>Registered nurses at First Hospital and Moses Taylor struck on Wednesday, April 25. Hospital officials responded by locking the strikers out until the following Monday.</p><p>PASNAP says CHS &#8220;has refused to take nurses&#8217; concerns seriously, resulting in chronic understaffing and unhealthy over-reliance on temporary agency nurses and even illegal forced overtime.&#8221;</p><p>According to union calculations, WGBH was short-staffed by more than 107 FTEs (full-time positions) and had more than 900 unfilled shift openings in the emergency room during a recent six-week period.</p><p>The hospital was also cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry for numerous violations of the state&#8217;s ban on mandatory overtime for nurses and other front line health care workers, the union added.</p><p>CHS&#8217; statement did not address any of those issues, noting only the union &#8220;has served a notice of its intent to conduct a strike, picketing and other concerted refusal to work activity&#8221; starting at 7 a.m. May 31.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nurses from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital held an informational picket outside the hospital in March. Their union announced Tuesday that the nurses are prepared to strike May 31 if WBGH officials don&#8217;t resolve staffing and safety issues. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/web1_TTL031618Nurses-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nurses from Wilkes-Barre General Hospital held an informational picket outside the hospital in March. Their union announced Tuesday that the nurses are prepared to strike May 31 if WBGH officials don&#8217;t resolve staffing and safety issues. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre General nurses set strike date