Update: Wilcox Medical Center nurses have 30 days to decide following strike authorization

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information and comments from Wilcox Medical Center leadership.

12:08 p.m. update: The Hawai‘i Nurses Association and Wilcox Medical Center nurses will meet in the coming days to discuss next steps, after nurses’ voting period to authorize a strike closed Wednesday night.

The nurses have up to 30 days to make their decision, according to a Hawai‘i Nurses Association spokesperson.

“We are disappointed in the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association’s decision,” said Jen Chahanovich, president and CEO of Wilcox Medical Center, in response to the strike authorization.

Chahanovich continued: “We are focused on the negotiations set for Jan. 9 and 10, and remain committed to reaching an agreement for our nurses, our medical center and our community.”

Original post: The 159-member nursing team at Wilcox Medical Center in Līhuʻe voted to authorize a strike to show their disdain for rampant unfair labor practices, according to the Hawaiʻi Nurses Association.

“With constraints on access to care already a challenge on the Garden Island, this unresolved issue may create even bigger problems for Kaua‘i residents,” the press release said.

The nurses voted during a period from Sunday to 8 p.m. New Yearʻs Day, with 76% voting to authorize the strike.

The Hawai‘i Nurses Association represents the Wilcox nurses as well as the nurses at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children, a Hawai‘i Pacific Health sister hospital.

On Tuesday, the nurses at both the Punchbowl and West O‘ahu campuses of The Queen’s Medical Center, who also are represented by the Hawaiʻi Nurses Association, also overwhelming voted in favor of a strike because of unfair labor practices.

The Hawaiʻi Nurses Association began negotiations with Wilcox Medical Center on May 6. They have been fighting for safer nurse-to-patient staffing to deliver good care for patients, said Rosalee Agas-Yuu, the nurses association president, in the press release.

The nurses contract at the Kauaʻi hospital expired on Aug. 31.

“The voting results at Wilcox send a strong message to management,” Agas-Yuu said. “The nurses are saying, ‘Enough already. Itʻs time to move forward and do what’s right for the people of Kaua‘i.ʻ”

She added the nurses are “being put through hell because of their commitment to professionalism.”

Agas-Yuu also said Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, a nonprofit health network which owns the Wilcox Medical Center, has the resources and capacity to address the problem, as the company did for patients at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children.

The Hawaiʻi Nurses Association has filed a number of unfair labor practice complaints against Wilcox with the National Labor Relations Board for unlawfully interfering with the rights of employees who request union representation and for engaging in illegal discrimination and taking adverse actions against bargaining unit employees in retaliation for their participation in contract negotiations.

The press release said the heightened animosity toward the nurses have also increased coercive behavior and harassment by the hospital’s management.

Another unfair labor practice was filed because off-duty nurses were prohibited from accessing their worksite to speak with their fellow union members and were subjected to illegal threats and discrimination, violating their federally protected rights. 

“Nurses and doctors are the backbone of our healthcare system, tirelessly advocating for the safety and wellbeing of every patient,” said Wilcox nurse Belgica Heredia, RN. “Safe staffing ratios aren’t just a workplace issue; they’re a matter of life and health for our communities.”

Wilcox nurse Jessi Dettle, RN, said the nurses continue to be forced to work in unsafe staffing conditions.

“This decision to strike is not being taken lightly,” Dettle said. “Our island is changing and growing, and the current practices at Wilcox do not address the older and sicker population coming through our ER, OR and into the inpatient units.”

This is a breaking story and it will be updated with comments from Wilcox Medical Center and Hawaiʻi Pacific Health.