Nurses May Strike Over Staffing Levels At This NJ Hospital

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center say they'll be going on strike June 9 if their union and Hackensack Meridian Health can't come to an agreement over staffing levels in a new contract.

An overwhelming majority of 350 nurses authorized the strike in April, according to Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), the nursing union. Their contract expired on April 30; negotiations resumed on May 29. That day, nurses said they would walk off the job because their bosses weren't taking their staffing level concerns seriously.

“It is unconscionable for Hackensack Meridian Health to callously continue to claim that there’s no staffing problem at Southern Ocean Medical Center,” HPAE Local 5138 President Anna Pona said in a news release. “Who are they trying to deceive with that claim? I’ve been a nurse for more than 35 years. I have never seen staffing levels as bad as they are right now. My colleagues and I are overworked and stressed due to short staffing. We want to be able to care for our patients and we need more staff to be able to provide a safe level of care consistently for each patient.”

In a statement, Hackensack Meridian Health claimed that the union is "silencing its members."

“HMH presented a generous offer, but the union refuses to let our nurses vote on it,” Hackensack Meridian Health, the largest not-for-profit health care organization in New Jersey, said. “They're choosing a strike over letting their members' voices be heard. This should be about providing excellent care by those on the front lines each and every day.”

The organization said they put forth a “comprehensive proposal” including things like a 3 percent across-the-board wage increase effective July 1, filling open registered nurse positions in “key areas” plus further discussing staffing needs and using a real-time predictive scheduling system to ensure appropriate staffing at the start of each shift.

Hackensack Meridian Health said the company was committed to its nurses. But the nurses say they want nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in their contract.

If negotiations continue to stall, the strike will commence at 7 a.m. on June 9.