Published: October 01, 2007 11:38 pm         

Local hospitals fully operational, CEO says

Despite a nurses’ strike that has more than 150 Beckley-ARH and Summers County-ARH employees off the job, the two hospitals are operating without interruption of services, according to Rocco Massey, community CEO for ARH.

“Today, ARH has begun hiring permanent replacement workers, and they will remain in place regardless of the outcomes of the labor dispute,” Massey said Monday. “At this time, we will continue to rely on those nurses as well as on non-union nurses and staffing agencies to meet appropriate and safe staffing in our hospitals,” Massey said.

“Furthermore, Beckley-ARH continues to receive applications from other RNs in our region in search of employment,” Massey said. “People out there do recognize ARH as a good employer.”

Dale Martin, president of the West Virginia Nurses Association, said striking nurses cannot be replaced permanently unless Appalachian Regional Healthcare Inc. can prove the strike resulted from issues regarding money.

“They (ARH) have to prove this is an economic strike in order to replace our nurses,” Martin said. “This strike is not about money. It never has been. I have talked with nurses from the start of the contract negotiations, and their concern all along has been about staffing and mandatory overtime that jeopardizes the safety and care of their patients.”

Darlene Newcomb, president of Local Union 205 at Summers County-ARH, said issues regarding patient safety are chiefly responsible for Thursday’s vote that defeated the ratification of a new contract by a 2-1 margin.

“They removed all the current language we had about staffing and scheduling of nurses. We asked for no mandatory overtime, because it’s getting to be exhausting,” Newcomb said. “Those were the big issues with us.”

Following the vote, Appalachian Regional Healthcare Inc. ceased negotiations with the KNA/WVNA.

“A last, best and final offer is just that,” Massey told The Register-Herald Friday. “Negotiations are done.”

“They (ARH) walked away from the table four days before the previous contract expired,” Newcomb said. “We have continually tried to go back to the table. We had four more days to negotiate. We did not want to strike.”

— E-mail:

bdavis@register-herald.com