Nurses at Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospital have called off plans to picket after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the hospital, the Professional Staff Nurses Association confirmed Tuesday.
"We have come to a tentative agreement with the hospital. We truly believe this is the best contract we could get at this time," the group said in a statement on the Ohio Nurses Association website. "This was definitely a hard, long, exhausting fight. We feel that we got some good language in this agreement that we can build upon in future contracts. It is very important that we continue to grow and stand in solidarity moving forward so that we are ready for an even stronger fight in the next contract."
A vote on the contract is scheduled for Monday, according to the statement.
Efforts to reach Akron General were unsuccessful.
The hospital's nurses previously threatened to strike amid demands for safe staffing and safe patient limits. A petition sponsored by the Ohio Nurses Association also called out Dr. Brian Harte, president of Akron General, and hospital executives for their salaries, "while the nurses struggle."
The Professional Staff Nurses Association previously notified hospital executives of their intent to picket the hospital this week.
"While executives enjoy substantial salaries, cuts to frontline resources compromise the quality of healthcare," the petition read. "This, in turn, contributes to the mounting medical debt burden on patients and our communities, creating a disheartening cycle where executive gains coincide with the erosion of essential services and financial hardships for those seeking medical care."
