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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 10:44 a.m., Friday, October 27, 2006

Wilcox Memorial Hospital strike officially ends

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Staff Writer

LIHU`E, Kaua'i—The 126-day strike by nurses against Wilcox Memorial Hospital ended this morning with the nurses' ratification of a new contract.

The Hawai`i Nurses Association did not release the exact tally but said support for the new contract was overwhelming.

Nurses said the key feature of the contract for them was an agreement by the hospital to form a joint committee to develop a system for assessing patient needs and assigning additional nurses when those needs increase.

"Overall, this is not the contract we hoped for. For us, personally, it is less than we could have had if we had just given up on our principle for better patient healthcare and signed the package that was on the table when we voted to strike. We gave up four months of our income to win the key benefit," said union negotiating team member Chris Broussard.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.