WASHINGTON — D.C.’s Medstar Washington Hospital is open and operating normally Monday despite a strike by dozens of its nurses.
The strike began at 7 a.m. Monday and is expected to last 24 hours.
“The strike, while unfortunate, has not affected our ability to care for patients,” says a statement from MedStar Washington Hospital.
The nurses claim the hospital, located at 110 Irving Street in Northwest, hasn’t treated them fairly and doesn’t put enough nurses on the schedule. Also, the nurses say hospital executives refuse to fairly address matters of health, safety and equity for patients and nurses.
On Monday, the nurses will hold a rally to voice their frustrations and speak out about nurses’ need to have a greater voice in patient care decisions.
The hospital says it offered an 8 percent raise the three-year life of a nurse’s contract, as well as premium pay for off-shifts, retention bonuses and additional payments to those who take on added responsibilities.
There are replacement nurses in the hospital to help treat any patients who come in.
“An experienced contingent of highly skilled replacements nurses is in place to deliver safe, high-quality care to our patients during the strike, working alongside our own nurses, nurse managers, physicians and other providers,” says the MedStar Washington Hospital statement. “These replacement nurses are expert at coming to complex clinical environments such as ours and providing excellent care.”
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.
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