Massachusetts Nurses Association On Strike At St. Vincent Hospital

By Danielle LaShomb –

On Monday morning nurses from St. Vincent Hospital went on strike, protesting what they call unsafe conditions for both nurses and patients.

Nurses say they plan on picketing in front of the hospital every day from 6 a.m. to midnight, until a settlement is reached between the Massachusetts Nurses Association and Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, which owns the hospital.

On Tuesday, day two of the strike, nurses could be seen out in front of the hospital picketing as cars drove by beeping their horns and cheering the nurses on.

Worcester Daily News reached out to St. Vincent Hospital and Rhiana L. Sherwood, the Communications Manager for Tenet – Massachusetts emailed a statement from the hospital stating, “Saint Vincent Hospital is operational, fully prepared and continuing safe care for the community.” The statement goes on to say, “Saint Vincent Hospital is pleased to share with the community that the hospital is operational and appropriately staffed to continue to provide safe, high-quality care.”

Saint VIncent’s Hospital states that “Qualified replacement registered nurses are fully oriented, trained and on the units taking care of patients. They are providing needed care while the MNA is outside of the hospital, striking, in the midst of the ongoing global pandemic.”

In a letter to the union president, St. Vincent Hospital CEO Carolyn Jackson called on union members to stop using “bullying and intimidation” tactics against their colleagues.

When asked about “bullying and intimidation,” David Schildmeier, Director of Communications for the Massachusetts Nurses Association told Worcester Daily News, “Anytime Carolyn Jackson is moving her lips she is lying.”

Schildmeier also stated, “The only bullying that has gone on is everyday for the past two years nurses have been bullied by administrative policies.”

Carolyn Jackson is the CEO of St. Vincent Hospital and in a released statement she says, “We value our relationship with all of our employees, and we remain ready to reach an amicable agreement with the MNA.”