Nurses at Ascension Via Christi to strike Wednesday

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Ascension Via Christi nurses in Kansas and Texas are prepared to strike on Wednesday. The National Nurses United said the registered nurses are protesting unsafe conditions management has failed to remedy.

The nurses notified Ascension of their intent to strike last month. Although the strike is for one day, the nurses will not be able to return to work until Dec. 10. Ascension said that it is contractually obligated to provide four days of work for those who are temporarily replacing nurses.

“We are disappointed NNU has made the decision to proceed with its second strike this year, once again creating unnecessary uncertainty for our associates and their families, and concern for our patients and their loved ones,” said Ascension in a release on Nov. 28.

The nurses union said the move is a “ploy to intimidate nurses from speaking out against the conditions driving their decision to strike.”

“Ascension’s decision to lock nurses out for three more days after our one-day strike shows how they’d rather use their vast resources to delay improvements than to invest in the care our patients deserve,” said Carol Samsel, RN, in the ICU at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph in Wichita. “Rather than listen to the nurses, management is stubbornly delaying improvements in care our patients deserve. They may think they are punishing the nurses, but they are actually damaging their reputation with the public.”

The RNs are bargaining their first union contracts. They have said safe staffing and nurse recruitment and retention are critical factors for ensuring patient safety. On Dec. 6, they will strike to specifically call attention to:

• Equipment issues: At ASMCA (Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin), there is a lack of functional IV pumps, hospital gowns, blankets, and thermometers, as well as persistent problems with hospital-issued phones that nurses use during their shift for communication.
• Staffing issues: In Wichita, at St. Francis and St. Joseph hospitals, management’s unsafe ‘floating’ policy means nurses are assigned to units where they do not usually work and may not have the training or expertise to care for those patients. In Austin, at ASCMA, management is proposing that labor and delivery nurses with as little as 18 months of experience be assigned to ‘charge’ roles, which are typically given to experienced nurses in safely-staffed hospitals as they are responsible for the smooth functioning of their units and act as resource nurses.