Ascension nurses strike in Wichita after violent threat, fatal shooting at hospital
Nurses at Ascension hospitals Via Christi St. Joseph and St. Francis in Wichita went on strike Monday over escalating concerns about patient safety and workplace violence — concerns they say management is not addressing.
In late June, Ascension Via Christi announced the nonprofit Catholic hospital system planned to add weapons detectors at the emergency department entrances at its two Wichita hospitals by August in response to two incidents at St. Joseph — a suicide by gun outside the emergency department and shooting threats that placed the hospital on lockdown for several hours.
Management announced the security enhancements after nurses had voted to authorize a one-day strike. Both hospitals remain open and fully operational, a spokesperson for Ascension Via Christi said.
Nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph and St. Francis hospitals are part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee and National Nurses United labor union. Striking nurses said Monday that the security enhancements fall short of what is needed to protect patients and workers at St. Francis and St. Joseph.
“We need a weapons-detection system for all entrances of the hospital,” Carol Samsel, a registered nurse for 43 years, told The Eagle. “Right now, they have offered to put one in the ER, after the events, but they are not willing to put one at the front door, and as you can see, it’s not far from the emergency room to the front door.”
Marvin Ruckle, an RN in the neonatal intensive care unit, said Ascension has been pushing back on the union’s efforts to get security guarantees in current contract negotiations.
“After the gunshot at our ER, they did say that they were going to put the weapons detection at the ER entrances only,” Ruckle said. “And we, as the nurses union, say that is too little, too late. That is not enough. It should not take a tragedy to place that weapon detection at the doorways. And it should not take more tragedies to get them to place it in every single doorway. Anybody can walk in those doors with a concealed weapon, a knife, a gun, a hatchet.”
Ascension also announced that any nurses who participate in the Monday strike will not be allowed back to work until Friday, a move the hospital said is required under its contract with a staffing agency and that the union called “retaliatory.”
“Via Christi St. Francis and Via Christi St. Joseph remain open and fully operational for anyone seeking care during National Nurses United’s strike,” Scott Evans, a spokesperson for Ascension Via Christi, said in a statement. “Comprehensive contingency plans are in place, including a full complement of highly skilled, credentialed replacement registered nurses, ensuring no disruption to the vital care and services we provide to our communities.”
Ascension Via Christi did not respond directly to questions about why or whether the hospital system has pushed back on installing weapons detectors at all entrances.
“We firmly believe that differences are best resolved respectfully at the bargaining table and remain focused on how we can work together to reach mutually beneficial agreements that provide our nurses with the market-competitive compensation and benefits they deserve, that ensure the long-term viability of Via Christi, and that allow us to continue delivering on our shared mission of delivering safe, compassionate care to all,” Evans said.
As part of Ascension’s security enhancements, Evans said, it plans to install weapons detectors at the emergency department entrances by August and expand the “dedicated security workforce” at its Wichita hospitals.
Samsel, one of dozens of registered nurses picketing outside St. Joseph on Monday morning, said the risks of violence extend well beyond the emergency room.
“You’d be amazed what people bring into the hospital,” Samsel said. “There’s knives. We had a guy that had a machete. We had a guy that came up with a gun on our unit. All you have to do is have them get irritated, and you don’t know what’s going to happen.
“We’re here to care for people,” she said. “We should not have to be worried about getting beat up at work. We shouldn’t have to worry about being safe at work. We just want to take care of our patients like we take care of our families, and you know everybody’s going to need a hospital someday. So we’re fighting for the whole community.”