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Montana Nurses Association, St. Patrick Hospital, reach agreement on labor contract • Daily Montanan [1]

['Keila Szpaller', 'Jared Strong', 'Nicole Girten', 'More From Author', '- April']

Date: 2024-04 

The Montana Nurses Association announced Saturday it reached an agreement on a nurses contract with Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula after multiple rounds of negotiation and mediation.

Roughly 650 nurses at the hospital had been involved in the negotiation labor leaders said would affect the hospital and patient care into the future.

“MNA, along with MNA Local 17 nurses, believe collective bargaining is the strongest advocacy tool to improve nurse retention and will continue to prioritize safe staffing, workplace violence, and retention to keep Missoula nurses local,” the organization said in a news release.

“These priorities protect quality patient care and workplace safety by giving nurses a collective voice to advocate on behalf of their patients and community.”

St. Patrick Hospital is part of the Providence system, which operates in 51 hospitals and 1,000 clinics in five states, according to its website.

A labor leader earlier said one in five nurses leaves Missoula in their first year because of pay, and recruitment and retention were among the priorities in contract negotiations.

A spokesperson for St. Pat’s could not be reached Saturday but earlier said the hospital has a history of collaborating with the Montana Nurses Association on contracts that are “market competitive and meet the needs of our nurses and our ministry.”

Signs supporting the nurses popped up across Missoula this spring, and the nurses thanked community members for their support through negotiations: “St. Pat’s nurses look forward to continuing to provide the community with high quality care.”

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/montana-nurses-association-st-patrick-hospital-reach-agreement-on-labor-contract/

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