Moloka'i nurses prepare to strike today
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
Barring a last-minute settlement, the six registered nurses at Moloka'i General Hospital will go on strike this morning.
Negotiators for the nurses union and the hospital, owned by the Queen's Health System, did not meet yesterday, although Caroldean Kahue, chief negotiator for the Hawai'i Nurses' Association, was on the island.
"Nobody has called us to come back to the table,'' Kahue said from the Hotel Moloka'i.
The 30-bed Moloka'i General is the only hospital on Moloka'i and the only clinic to offer emergency care.
The nurses are asking for a package that includes a one-time bonus and a 1 percent wage increase that would total less than $5,000 a year for all six staff members.
The nurses have not received a pay increase in more than three years, while the hospital has reduced the staff, increasing workloads, according to the union.
Moloka'i registered nurses are the lowest-paid in the state, Kahue said, making $25.10 an hour, or about $3 less per hour than their counterparts at the Queen's Medical Center and other major O'ahu hospitals.
Dr. Phillip Reyes, Moloka'i General's co-medical executive director, said yesterday that hospital negotiators made a fair offer that included pay raises, but it was rejected. He added that the hospital loses more than $2 million a year and relies on subsidies from the state and the Queen's Health System.
"Five thousand dollars may not sound like a lot on O'ahu, but it means a lot to us,'' he said.
Reyes said nursing workloads have not increased significantly because the cuts in staff have been accompanied by a reduction in the number of patients being admitted.
The hospital will remain open today whether the strike is on or not, he said. Most operations will continue as usual, using two nursing administrators who also are practicing nurses. Acute cases would be transferred to bigger hospitals on Maui or O'ahu.
Reyes said the hospital is preparing to stay open without the striking nurses for at least three weeks.
