PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The union that represents nurses at Rhode Island’s only Level 1 trauma hospital is calling on its parent company to increase the pay of nurses who have been on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
The United Nurses and Allied Professionals union on Tuesday delivered a petition with more than 2,000 signatures to Lifespan Corp., which operates Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
Lifespan, the state’s largest health care organization, has already increased compensation for nurses at some of its other hospitals.
“We provide a critical component of patient care in Rhode Island, yet during this unprecedented health crisis, Lifespan seems to have forgotten about us,” Frank Sims, a Rhode Island Hospital nurse and union president said in a statement. “While the nurses at Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital are being recognized for their front line service with appropriate compensation increases during this crisis, Lifespan has refused to do the same for Rhode Island Hospital nurses.”
“We are engaged in active, ongoing discussions with our union leaders about a wage and benefit enhancement package and look forward to bringing these future negotiations to a successful conclusion,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
