Watsonville RN Jennifer Holm: "I’m proud of the nurses who worked hard to win key staffing issues at our hospital"

A two-day strike involving some 300 registered nurses at Watsonville Community Hospital that was scheduled to begin this morning is off as nurses and hospital representatives reached a tentative agreement late Tuesday night.

The press conference that had been scheduled at 1:45 pm today at Watsonville City Plaza is also cancelled.

After a long dispute with the hospital, nurses were able to successfully address significant staffing concerns, and achieve economic improvements, and protection of their health coverage.

More details to be released after the agreement is presented to the nurses.  Watsonville RNs will vote on the proposed agreement Friday, June 24.

“I am very proud of the nurses who have worked hard--and the friends, family and neighbors who rallied around them--to win these key staffing issues at our hospital.  This victory is about nurses being able to provide care to patients in our community,” said Watsonville RN Jennifer Holm. 

As a nurse, it is necessary that we continue the fight to make sure patients are the number one priority in these national for-profit hospitals,” Holm said.

Issues leading up to the nurses giving a notice to strike include unsafe staffing, retaliation and poor treatment of nurses and the over all effects national chain Quorum Health Corporation (formally Community Health Systems) putting profits before patients.