Montgomery Co. Nurses To Rally, Citing 'Dangerous' Working Conditions

EAST NORRITON, PA — Nurses from around the region will gather at Suburban Community Hospital in Montgomery County next week to protest what they call dangerous working conditions and the refusal of ownership to meet basic demands of the union.

The protest comes amid ongoing recoil from the pandemic which has left hospitals and healthcare systems across the nation shortstaffed and underfunded. It's also part of a nationwide reckoning faced by for-profit health networks over treatment of overworked and at-risk frontline workers.

The Suburban General Nurses’ Association, which is leading negotiations on a new contract, blames Prime Healthcare for cutting services and breaking promises about growing staff and the local economy.

“We’ve been a union for more than 50 years, and we’d never been outside the hospital until Prime bought us in 2016,” Shannan Giambrone, an ICU nurse at Suburban and the longtime co-president of the union. “Since then, we’ve been outside every year, fighting to protect our patients and our profession.”

See also: Employees At 24 PA Nursing Homes To Strike

Beyond dangerously low staffing that is impacting bedside care, nurses say Prime has provided "grossly inadequate" health insurance, and has attempted to cut sick leave for nurses in the new contract.

Prime told Patch that they are invested in the negotiation process.

"We are committed to bargaining in good faith with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) leadership to reach an agreement in the best interests of our hospital, our employees, and, most importantly, those whom we serve," Michelle Aliprantis, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said in a statement. "Our goal is to move forward together as a united team, continuing to ensure Suburban Community Hospital remains the best place for quality and compassionate patient care and a great place to work."

The union says that Prime is able to staff all of their Pennsylvania hospitals at the appropriate level. They point to how the network has done so in California, which has state-mandated nurse to patient ratios.

"At bargaining for the previous contract, their (Prime's) attorney told the Union that they do not have to because there is no law to force them to do so," the union added.

The protest will take place on Monday, Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nurse leaders and elected officials will speak.

Nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital, a facility also owned by Prime, will hold a similar rally and protest on Oct. 30.

Prime owns 45 hospitals in 14 states and is facing similar protests and strikes from workers across the country, including in Los Angeles.