Nurses at ACMH Hospital near Kittanning walked off the job Sunday after months of stalled negotiations over staffing and wage issues.

More than 100 employees, community leaders and strike supporters began picketing at 7 a.m. Many held handmade signs asking for respect, better wages, safe staffing and nurse retention.

Sign messages included “Don’t Tread on Nurses,” “Called Heroes Treated Like Zero,” “Nurses Never Fold” and “If Nurses Are Outside There’s Something Wrong Inside.”

Hospital officials, in a retort, said it presented a “lucrative and aggressive wage proposal” and that the union is spreading misstatements.

“First, and most important, patient care is not being compromised at ACMH in any way,” the hospital said in a statement. “The hospital and the nurses’ union have had patient-nurse staffing guidelines in the labor agreement for a number of years. ACMH frequently operates with staffing in excess of these guidelines.”

A five-day strike was authorized Jan. 26.

ACMH Nurses United represents more than 200 nurses at the 160-bed facility off routes 28 and 422, along Nolte Drive in East Franklin.

A spokesperson for the union said the purpose of the strike is to “grab management’s attention.”

The strike will continue through Thursday, with nurses planning to strike from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

“We don’t want to be out here,” said Cassie Wood, a registered nurse and president of ACMH Nurses United. “We want to be inside with our patients, many of whom are our friends and neighbors. We’re not abandoning them. We walked out to protect them.”

Nurses United is an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals and represents more than 9,000 nurses and health care professionals across Pennsylvania.

“We’re here to fight for fair wages,” said ACMH nurse anesthetist Christen Rearick. “We deserve respect as well from the hospital administration.”

Nurses at ACMH in the Kittanning area began striking at 7 a.m. Sunday.⁦⁩ ⁦Employee Christen Rearick, a CRNA from Burrell Township, talks about why she’s striking. ⁦@VNDNews⁩ ⁦@TribLIVE⁩ pic.twitter.com/zWCkgrkiqm

— Joyce Hanz (@hanz_joyce) March 13, 2022

The 220 nurses at ACMH have been in contract negotiations since July.

Employee Sandy Harrison addressed the crowd Sunday and said the situation among nurses is frustrating.

“The nurses have faithfully met and were extremely patient with the administration during the negotiations. Our patients, our community and our nurses deserve better,” Harrison said.

More than 40 ACMH nurses have left during the past year, primarily to seek nursing jobs with higher wages — up to $6 more per hour, according to a union spokesperson.

ACMH declined Sunday to provide an hourly wage rate that nurses earn.

“Our voices need to be heard,” Harrison said. “We want respect, we want recruitment and we want retention because we are worth it.”

Hospital administrators issued a written statement Sunday, denying claims that the hospital’s CEO, John Lewis, received a wage increase of $600,000 in 2020.

“This is simply false,” hospital officials said.

ACMH said it offered the most lucrative and aggressive wage proposal in its history, with an increase of 7% to 12% for first-year contracts, depending on years of experience, followed by another increase over the next two years.

State Rep. Austin Davis, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, showed up Sunday and praised ACMH nurses for saving lives during the pandemic.

“I speak for millions of Pennsylvanians who say ‘thank you,’ ” he said. “But we have to do more than just say ‘thank you.’ We have to pay you.”

Nikki Kemp of Worthington, holding a “Honk For Nurses” sign, joined the strike to show support for her sister, who works as a nurse at ACMH.

“They deserve a contract that will allow to recruit and retain nurses,” Kemp said.

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