RNs at Houlton Regional Hospital to strike over emergency staffing issues

Houlton Regional Hospital Nurses Plan Four-Day Strike Over Staffing Concerns

On Tuesday, May 26, registered nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital (HRH) located in Houlton, Maine, are set to initiate a four-day strike. This action, organized by the Maine State Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (MSNA/NNOC), is a response to management's failure to address pressing concerns about staffing levels in the hospital's emergency department (ED) and the subsequent effects on patient care.

Following the closure of the hospital's labor and delivery services on May 2, 2025, an agreement was reached to ensure that three nurses would always be present in the ED, anticipating the arrival of pregnant patients with urgent needs. However, this agreement has not been honored by the new management, which took charge at the end of May 2025. Presently, the staffing schedule includes only two nurses from 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. each day.

"We have patients, including patients in labor, who come to the ED, who require at least two nurses to meet their needs," stated Tenille Nason, RN in the emergency department. "The ED staffing agreement was a compromise, but we felt it addressed our biggest concern, which was made even more critical by the closure of labor and delivery. Without an additional nurse, who will take care of the rest of the patients in the emergency department?”

Event Details:

Who: Registered nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital

What: Four-day strike for emergency department staffing

When: Tuesday, May 26, 6:45 a.m. to Saturday, May 29, 6:44 a.m. RNs picketing daily: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m.

Where: Corner of North St. and Putnam Ave., Houlton, Maine

Notice of the strike was given to HRH on May 15, allowing the hospital time to arrange alternative patient care measures. Previously, in November 2025, the nurses conducted a two-day strike. Negotiations for a new contract have been ongoing for over a year and a half, with the previous contract having expired on November 30, 2024.

"What’s inexplicable is that we had an agreement on increasing emergency department staffing after the OB unit was closed," commented Jess McBride, RN in the emergency department. "Our local managers understood our concerns, but new management has refused to honor the agreement. We want to staff our ED with at least three nurses on at all times so we can safely handle everything that comes through - day or night.”

"The emergency department is very much like staffing the fire department or ambulance services. You don’t know when the influx of patients is going to occur, but you need enough nurses to safely take care of them whenever it does," added Tenille Nason, RN in the emergency department. "This issue had been resolved, so the fact that it remains an ongoing issue after all this time is mind-boggling."

MSNA/NNOC represents 55 nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital.

Maine State Nurses Association is part of National Nurses Organizing Committee, representing 4,000 nurses and other caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent. NNOC is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing labor union of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide.

---
Read More USA Works News