Allina Health hospital nurses returned to work without incident Sunday morning after a seven-day strike, and both sides remain uncertain where contract talks are headed.
Allina President and CEO Dr. Penny Wheeler went to United Hospital in St. Paul for the 7 a.m. shift change between replacement nurses and union members, and she came away impressed: "Everyone was professional, compassionate and focused on the patients," she said.
Rick Fuentes, a spokesman for the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA), agreed that the nurses' return went "pretty smoothly," and he said they were eager to return to the bargaining table. Last week, no one made a move to restart talks as thousands of nurses walked picket lines at five Allina hospitals.
When negotiations will resume remains uncertain, but Wheeler expressed hope Sunday the two sides could get together "maybe as soon as this week."
"We very much desire to get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible, and we're working to make that happen," Allina spokesman David Kanihan said. He declined to elaborate further.
Allina wants the nurses to switch from their union-protected health benefits to its lower-cost employee health plans.
Fuentes said he hopes that any move by Allina to restart bargaining includes a willingness on its part to discuss more than the health-insurance stalemate. The union also has safety and staffing concerns that must be addressed, he said.
The 4,800 union nurses were replaced last week by 1,400 nurses recruited from around the country. Inpatient floors at all but Unity Hospital were said to be at usual summertime levels of activity. At Unity, Allina canceled elective surgeries and closed some recovery floors.