The nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital have approved a new contract with the owners of the Bristol Township facility.
The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) said in a statement that the three-year deal with California-based hospital owner Prime Healthcare covers nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital and Suburban Community Hospital in Montgomery County.
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The deal avoids a two-day strike that was planned for Friday if an agreement was not reached. The deal comes a year after contract talks started.
“Nurses and healthcare professionals have selflessly sacrificed during the COVID-19 pandemic at great personal risk to themselves,” said PASNAP President Maureen May, a nurse. “In the positive resolution of these contract fights, the needs of our frontline workers have been respected and their patient communities are further protected. We are thrilled.”
“We are pleased to reach a three-year agreement with PASNAP. Lower Bucks Hospital and Suburban Community Hospital have a long tradition of providing quality medical and nursing care to the patients of our community. This new contract will allow us to continue this tradition. Thank you to our skilled and compassionate nurses and employees, who are dedicated to their team and our patients,” hospital spokesperson Michelle Aliprantis said.
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The new agreement ensures a minimum level of nursing care per patient, prioritizing patient outcomes and protection; settles on a health care plan that allows nurses to see primary care and specialists outside of the hospital chain while most will also see premiums decrease; and gives Lower Bucks Hospital nurses raises of 4 percent, 4 percent, and 3 percent, plus an additional 2 percent in step increases.
Aliprantis said Lower Bucks Hospital has 119 union nurses.
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“Our nurses are dedicated to our community, our hospital and our patients,” said nurse Shirley Crowell, president of Nurses Association of Lower Bucks Hospital. “This contract won improvements to ensure patient safety and improved working conditions. We’re proud to continue serving the people of Lower Bucks in the best way we know how.”
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