Ascension Saint Agnes RNs Plan July 24 Strike for Patient Safety

Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital Nurses to Stage One-Day Strike

Nurses at Baltimore's Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital have announced plans for a one-day strike on July 24, citing unresolved concerns over patient care standards, staffing issues, and high turnover rates. This action follows an almost unanimous vote on May 16 authorizing the strike and marks the first such strike by hospital nurses in Baltimore.

The nurses, affiliated with the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), made history in November 2023 as the first registered nurses to unionize at a Baltimore hospital. They provided more than the required 10-day advance notice to the hospital to ensure arrangements can be made for patient care during the strike.

"Hospital management told us that they are OK with ‘suboptimal’ patient care when we brought this issue to the bargaining table. That is completely unacceptable, and that is why we are striking," stated Gideon Eziama, RN, who works in the cardiology/telemetry unit. Eziama highlighted concerns about the hospital's reliance on floating nurses to fill staffing gaps without adequately considering their competencies.

Who: Registered nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital

What: One-day strike for patient safety and fair contract

When: Thursday, July 24, 7 a.m. to Friday, July 25, 6:59 a.m.
RNs picketing: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. and 4 p.m.-8 p.m. outside the hospital; rally at 9 a.m.

Where: Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital, 900 S Caton Ave, Baltimore, Md.

The nurses have been engaged in contract negotiations since January 2024, with little progress on key issues. Despite attempts to address the need for improved staffing and nurse retention, Ascension management has not made significant commitments. A notable point of contention is the practice of "floating," where nurses are reassigned to unfamiliar units, leading to expertise and competency mismatches. Between April and July, over 10% of the hospital's nursing staff departed due to these persistent challenges.

The striking nurses are demanding a contract that includes:

• Safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios;
• Procedures to ensure nurses are only assigned to units where they have relevant skills;
• No patient assignments for charge nurses to allow them to support other staff.

"We want to give our patients the best care at all times, but that is difficult to do when we are stretched too thin," said Nicki Horvat, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Horvat noted that due to staffing shortages, charge nurses are often burdened with full patient loads, reducing their availability to respond to emergencies or new admissions, particularly in the NICU.

Despite ongoing rallies over the past 18 months, Ascension has pursued a $4 billion acquisition of ambulatory surgery provider Amsurg, which will add over 250 surgery centers to its operations across 34 states, including Maryland.

NNOC represents more than 600 nurses at Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital.