Nurses at St. Mary Medical Center (SMMC) in Apple Valley—some of whom traveled through fire-stricken areas to take part in the ratification process—have voted overwhelmingly, by 95 percent, to approve their contract, CNA announced today.

“It’s been a long hard road, but by standing together in unity, we signed an amazing contract agreement which shows value to our nurses, our patients and our community,” said Naomi Estrada-Mendoza, RN. “This is a big victory for patient care.”

SMMC joins fellow Providence St. Joseph Health (PSJH) hospitals Queen of the Valley in Napa—which ratified its contract in Tuesday voting—and Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna and St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, which are voting on their contracts today.

Key features in the tentative pacts for all Providence St. Joseph Hospitals voting this week include staffing improvements to promote patient safety, economic improvements to promote retention of experienced RNs and recruit new nurses, and critical healthcare protections, including a new RN supplement package for nurses injured in workplace violence or by needle stick accidents.

Highlights of the SMMC contract include:

• Improved health care benefits and protections, with no increases to costs during the life of the agreement.
• Additional RN holiday and educational leave, including opportunities to advance nurse education with paid time off.
• Economic gains including an across-the-board wage increases of 14% over three years, new wage step increases for veteran nurses of 25-years and 30-years, and an increase in standby pay to $10/hour.

“This agreement really upholds our ability to provide the best possible care for our patients and our community,” said Lois Sanders, RN. “We believe, and it’s been proven, that when we stand together we are stronger, and there is no stopping us.”

CNA represents nearly 4000 PSJH nurses and nearly 100,000 RNs statewide.