Nurses Welcome Gains, Preservation of Health Coverage

Registered Nurses who work at Rideout Health Group facilities in Marysville and Yuba City north of Sacramento have reached a tentative agreement on a new four year contract that provides important patient care and economic gains and holds the line on health coverage, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United said today.

The settlement will go before RNs for ratification in membership meetings Tuesday, May 28.

It affects 400 RNs who work at the Rideout Regional Medical Center in Marysville and Women and Infant Services in Yuba City, and a parallel agreement that covers RNs at an outpatient cancer center in Yuba City that is a joint venture between Rideout and the University of California Davis medical center.

Rideout RNs expressed gratification with finally reaching an agreement after 19 often contentious months of bargaining.

“Our goal was to have this contract be a positive impact on patient care and help our community retain nurses who may otherwise look to a bigger city for a similar job,” said Rideout RN Pat Hicks.

“It has been a long process but this agreement is fair and builds for the future,” Hicks said.  “The contract we negotiated advances our standards, which in turn benefits our patients.  We expect to see positive changes in the hospital as a result of it.”

Among important gains are new language to assure there is appropriate staffing coverage so that RNs are able to take meal and rest breaks, and no increase in health premium costs to the nurses through 2014.

All RNs will earn a 9 percent across the board pay increase over the four years of the agreement with an additional 2 percent increase for longer term RNs.

The RNs say the agreement will also strengthen the voice of the Professional Performance Committee, direct care nurses elected by their colleagues who meet with management to address patient care concerns.