Registered Nurses at Tobey Hospital have expressed concerns about unsafe working conditions, including understaffing and a lack of appropriate pay for their positions. 

Nurses and supporters held an informational picket to air their grievances outside Tobey Hospital, which is part of the Southcoast Health hospital system, on Tuesday, April 30.

“We’re fighting for ourselves, for our patients, for this community, for us as a family, and Southcoast does not respect that at all,” said Registered Nurse Christopher Souza. 

According to nurses and their supporters, many of their issues stem from inadequate staffing and inadequate compensation of the staff who are there. 

Because the hospital doesn’t have enough ancillary staff, nurses are expected to do additional jobs at the hospital, at the cost of patient care,  said Souza.

Select Board member and paramedic Jared Chadwick said the hospital has been short staffed throughout his experience with the facility. 

In his duties as a paramedic, Chadwick said he has experienced delays of 15 minutes or more in getting a patient seen by a nurse at the hospital.

“That’s 15 to 20 minutes that you’re leaving your town unprotected,” he said.

In a statement provided by Southcoast Health, associate Chief Nursing Officer Michele Wakeman said the organization “continually advocates for our nurses so they may provide exceptional care to the patients of our region — safely and with support and compassion.”

“We remain committed to coming to agreement on a contract that provides nurses with market-competitive compensation and good working conditions, while also ensuring our patients continue to have access to and receive high quality care, close to home,” said Wakeman. 

The Registered Nurses at Tobey Hospital are currently renegotiating their contract. 

Wakeman said contract negotiations started July 27, 2023, and that the hospital and the nurses have “completed 23 bargaining sessions to date in good faith.”

“We’re just out here today because we need a fair contract,” said Souza. 

“This organization has no respect for permanent staff. They have no respect for the union process,” said Lisa Lemieux, president of the Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council. 

Lemieux added she has been trying to get funding and training for years to fill the labor gaps in nursing. In the current conditions, nurses graduate, come to Tobey Hospital and leave because they aren’t paid enough, she said. 

Speaking at a hearing before the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee helmed by 3rd Bristol and Plymouth Senator Marc Pacheco, Southcoast Health President and CEO David McCready said the organization is very reliant on help with staffing from traveling nurses, which command a higher salary than the resident nurses at the hospital. 

“There just aren’t enough staff in our region who are interested in these jobs for the compensation that we’re able to pay them,” said McCready. 

At Tobey Hospital, traveling nurses get preference over scheduling as well as additional pay, which is “unheard of,” said Chadwick. 

And where traveling nurses come into a community to provide care, the hospital’s nurses are providing care to their own communities. 

“These are our families we take care of here,” said Souza.