Providence Health & Services in Oregon has asked federal mediators to review negotiations with doctors and other advanced clinical providers expected to go on strike next week.
The call comes after 5,000 nurses, doctors and other frontline health workers have announced their intention to leave their jobs starting next Friday. The Oregon Nurses Association, which represents nurses and other professionals in the nonprofit Catholic health system, called an indefinite strike Monday. (Health workers are required to give 10 days’ notice of a strike to allow health facilities time to prepare for disruptions to health services.)
The strike would include the state’s eight Providence hospitals and six Providence women’s clinics in the Portland metro area, marking greatest healthcare worker in Oregon history.
As the nonprofit Catholic health system says it’s ready to deal with the absence of nurses, it extends a strategic olive branch to 150 doctors and advanced clinical providers ready to strike “in the interest of community health”.
The healthcare giant said it has asked federal mediators to reopen negotiations with 70 hospitalistsincluding doctors and nurse practitioners, working at Providence St. Vincent. The providers unionized in 2023citing concerns about being assigned dangerous numbers of patients. They are represented by the Pacific Northwest Hospital Medicine Association, whose negotiating team includes the Oregon Nurses Association.
Providence said it also asked to review discussions with 80 doctors, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives who work at its chain of six women’s clinics in the Portland metro area.
Friday night, hospitalists and practitioners refused to return to mediation, in a statement suggesting they would only return to the table if Providence agreed to negotiate with other workers willing to strike.
Providence said it has hired temporary nurses to cover almost all of its staffing needs, but finding replacements for striking doctors has been more difficult.
“We call on those representing physician/provider groups to focus on mediation and put aside their planning for a walkout,” Providence said in a statement Thursday.
The Oregon Nurses Association, which serves the doctors’ union, rejected the health care giant’s statement, calling it “inconsistent” and “misleading.”
Health care workers, the union said, “will not be divided by these calculated measures, and no one should believe the shifting excuses of Providence.”
The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board last week, accusing Providence of bargaining in bad faith for its refusal to continue negotiations after receiving notice of the strike. The union also called on elected officials to urge Providence to continue negotiations.
Union leaders criticized Providence for its consistent refusal to negotiate during the 10 days leading up to the strike. The healthcare provider, however, said it needs to focus on hiring temporary staff.
“Preparing to recruit and orientation these temporary workers is the primary reason Providence bargaining teams have not been at the table with union leaders,” the hospital giant said in a statement . “However, there is no equivalent temporary replacement workforce for doctors. »
— Kristine de Leon covers consumer health, retail, small business and data companies. Contact her at kdeleon@oregonian.com.
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