Hundreds of nurses go on strike at St. Mary Medical Center Tuesday

LANGHORNE, Pa. - Nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Bucks County have gone on strike.

Hundreds of nurses walked out of the hospital in Langhorne on Tuesday morning.

The nurses' union says Trinity Health Systems has failed to make sure there are enough nurses on staff to provide proper care for patients.

They claim schedules on some units are being posted with half of the nurses needed for some shifts.

As cases rise, nurses say the hospital is filling up with coronavirus patients and patients have been waiting for hours in the emergency room.

And they say low pay is causing high turnover, which is making staffing issues even worse, and leaving nurses feeling burned out.

Nurses went on strike in Langhorne Tuesday as they fight for safe staffing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The nurses at St. Mary Medical Center have been bargaining for a first contract with Trinity Health Systems for more than a year.

Trinity Health Systems released a statement in response to the strike on Tuesday, saying the hospital is fully staffed and continues to serve patients during the strike. 

You can read the full statement below:

"Our team has implemented its robust contingency plan and we are seamlessly providing our community the quality, compassionate care they deserve throughout this unfortunate event. We have secured professional, qualified and highly competent agency nurses who are fully oriented to our hospital's processes and policies, and who are providing care for our patients and support for our physicians and clinical teams. We remain focused on our patients, visitors and colleagues, and ensuring that we maintain uninterrupted access to and from our campus. It's important to correct the record with regard to misinformation and we will continue to do so. Contrary to claims made by the union and its members, St. Mary did not furlough or layoff any housekeeping staff. All Emergency Departments in the area have been on divert intermittently over the past week. In the last seven days, St. Mary was on divert for under 15 hours due to increased visits by COVID and other patients needing care. We have not been on divert for trauma cases at any time. We respect the union members’ right to strike, and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach agreement on a fair, consistent and sustainable initial contract for St. Mary nurses. We look forward to the day productive negotiations can resume."

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