The certified nurse anesthetists at Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) General Hospital voted unanimously to authorize a one-day strike on Feb. 2, citing concerns of employee retention and recruitment, according to PAHomepage.
The vote comes after nine months of contract negotiations between the Wyoming Valley Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Association and its Cincinnati, Ohio-based employer, Capital Anesthesia Solutions.
The association has lost seven CRNAs since Capital Anesthesia Solutions became the association's employer in August 2020,Anne Marie Micikas, president of the CRNA association, told PAHomepage.
The association has informed Capital Anesthesia Solution of the strike and says it is willing to bargain every day to reach an agreement.
"We are losing staff to neighboring facilities because we are treated unfairly, and that affects patient care," Nancy Dines, vice president of the association, told PAHomepage. "We continue to urge management to put patients before profits, and we are hopeful they will do that on Friday."
Concerns about CRNA retention aren't specific to Wilkes-Barre. A group of CRNAs at Jeanes Hospital and Fox Chase Cancer Center, both part of Philadelphia-based Temple University Health System, unionized last month to improve employee retention and working conditions.