BALTIMORE — Registered Nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Southwest Baltimore are on strike, nurses say management have refused to address issues they believe are impacting patient care.
WATCH: Saint Agnes Hospital operating room nurse, Gary Wilson, speaking at the rally
The 24-hour walkout, organized by National Nurses United (NNU), comes after more than 18 months of stalled contract negotiations.
More than 600 nurses represented by the union say they’re fed up with what they call unsafe staffing levels, high turnover, and the frequent “floating” of nurses to different units — all of which they argue compromise patient care.
"I want to water the grass that I’m on instead of looking for greener grass on the other side,” said Nicki Horvat, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse at Saint Agnes. “This is our way of standing up and saying enough is enough. Nurses deserve better. Patients deserve better.”
Horvat, who previously worked in the adult orthopedic unit, said she left that department after routinely being assigned to six or seven patients a night.
She described suffering “moral distress” from not having time to speak with patients or provide the level of attention they needed.
"I couldn't stop for 5 or 10 minutes and just talk to the patient and see how they were doing. It was all very task driven. That just really broke something in my soul because I really do want to care for people and be there for them in their most vulnerable time. Us asking for safe staffing language is not this crazy, ridiculous ask. It’s something that should be a basic standard,” she said.
Fellow nurse Robin Buckner, who has worked on the vascular access team for years, echoed those concerns. She says reduced staffing and cuts to overnight services have directly affected patient outcomes.
“If the nurse is being pulled in 10 different directions, then you're gonna wait for pain medicine or any other care you might require," said Buckner.
The nurses say contract talks with Ascension have yielded some progress, such as an agreement to offer 3 year contracts instead of a 1 year deal. But key issues like staffing levels and floating protections remain unresolved.
“The hospital over the years has changed our staffing grids to make it so that the nurses are taking more patients than we previously were," said Horvat. "We're fairly close to the end but we've gotten to the point where we really need to see them move on our main priorities and let them know that we're not willing to settle."
Union members are pushing for increased pay and language that would give RNs more authority to request additional staff during peak demand and to prevent nurses from being reassigned to departments they say they aren’t trained for.
According to the NNU, more than 10% of nurses left Saint Agnes between April and July of this year due to these “chronic issues”.
"That's really what we're fighting for is to hold ascension accountable to their mission statement that you know they claim to be like the holistic healing hands of Jesus um and if they continue to prioritize profit over the patients then they are very much not living up to their mission
Horvat also highlighted the hospital’s retention problem, saying many nurses leave after receiving sign-on bonuses and completing a one-year commitment.
“Only about a third of our nurses have been here longer than four years,” she said. “It creates a constant revolving door — and we’re the ones left training new nurses again and again.”
Ascension Saint Agnes says it will remain open throughout the strike and has brought in temporary staff to maintain operations.
"We are grateful to the nearly 70 percent of our scheduled represented nursing staff who continued to provide uninterrupted, quality care for our patients this morning, alongside the experienced agency staff we contracted with to ensure ongoing safe care," the Hospital said.
A Saint Agnes spokesperson added this in a statement to WMAR-2 News.
“This decision not only undermines the progress of negotiations between Saint Agnes and NNU, but also creates unnecessary hardship for our associates and their families, as well as concern for our patients and their loved ones. We look forward to the union returning their focus to negotiations so we can continue to bargain in good faith and advocate for a contract that allows our nurses to have the choice on whether or not to be dues-paying union members, ensures safe staffing and provides market competitive wages."
Union leaders say they provided the hospital with a 10-day notice ahead of the strike so patient care could be adjusted accordingly. That includes rescheduling procedures and bringing in travel nurses to fill gaps.
A rally outside the hospital is scheduled for Thursday at 9am with picketing expected to continue until 7am Friday.
