(BEND, Ore.) –Calling nurses “the backbone of our system of care” Bend’s City Council voted to honor “the accomplishments and sacrifices of our local nurses” in a proclamation May 17.
City Councilors unanimously voted to pass the proclamation which declared Nurses Week in Bend, acknowledged that nurses are “under-recruited and under-retained”, and recognized local nurses “for their pivotal, unparalleled contributions to health care and our community.”
Councilor Megan Perkins introduced and sponsored the proclamation during Wednesday’s council meeting.
Local union nurses from St. Charles Bend attended and accepted the honor.
“I’m happy to accept this proclamation on behalf of my nurse colleagues and share our gratitude to Bend’s City Councilors. Frontline nurses know we can count on you. You have always been there to support us with your words and actions. It means a great deal to us,” said Erin Harrington, a local nurse and chair of ONA’s bargaining team at St. Charles Bend. “I’ve seen firsthand the significant challenges we’re facing in Bend to recruit, retain and respect nurses. This proclamation carries extra meaning for nurses today.”
The nearly 1,000 frontline nurses who work at St. Charles Bend are currently holding a strike vote. Nurses are voting to protect their community’s health and safety, protest St. Charles’ illegal unfair labor practices and fix St. Charles’ growing staffing crisis. The nearly 1,000 frontline nurses at St. Charles Bend are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA).
Local nurses have been meeting with St. Charles’ executives for more than 5 months to reach a fair contract agreement that increases recruitment and retention of skilled caregivers, addresses the hospital’s nurse staffing crisis, raises safety standards and ensures all Central Oregonians have access to safe, affordable health care.
Nurses at St. Charles Bend and throughout the city were honored by the council’s proclamation which declares May 6 - 12 Nurses Week–a nationally recognized time to honor nurses for their work and commitment to their profession, their patients and their community.
The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) is the state’s largest and most influential nursing organization. We are a professional association and labor union which represents more than 16,000 nurses and allied health workers throughout the state. ONA’s mission is to advocate for nursing, quality health care and healthy communities. For more information visit: www.OregonRN.org.
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