Swedish Medical Center prepares for worker strike, closes 2 emergency rooms

Roughly 7,800 nurses and caregivers at Swedish Medical Center campuses are expected to go on strike Tuesday morning.

The strike comes as contract negotiations between management and union staff stalled after more than nine months of talks. Staffing levels and compensation are two major sticking points.

Picket lines will begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and workers will remain on strike until Friday morning.

Swedish plans to bring in thousands of temporary workers to replace caregivers during the strike. However, a notice on their website states they were not able to secure enough staff to keep all departments open.

As a result, Swedish emergency rooms in Ballard and Redmond will close during the strike, beginning at 7 p.m. Monday night. The sites will reopen Friday morning. Other Swedish emergency departments will remain open.

The Ballard Labor and Delivery unit will also be closed until Friday morning.

Signage has been adjusted at locations where closures are occurring, according to Dr. Elizabeth Wako, Chief Medical Officer at Swedish First Hill.

Wako said they’ve been communicating with partners and patients to notify them of the closures, and working to ensure ambulance services know not to take patients to the closed emergency departments (EDs).

“In addition to that, we have contracted privately with ambulance teams to be available at each of our EDs that are closing, the Redmond site and the Ballard site, to take any patients that might have not received the information and show up at that site in crisis,” Wako said.

She said additional staff will also be on site to re-direct any patients who need information.

Still, some union members worry about the closures.

Carol Lightle is a nurse at the Swedish Issaquah campus. She said she’s concerned about the extra time it could take for someone to get care if they show up to a closed emergency room and then have to battle traffic to get to a second site.

“It’s very concerning because you’re not going to get there as quickly as you should be,” Lightle said.

Lightle said she wants community members to know about the closures so they can go elsewhere if they need emergency care.

Lightle and other union members say they’re striking in the hope that it will prompt management to address their concerns about staffing levels and compensation rates.

"We are hoping that Swedish-Providence will want to come to the table to seriously address the issues that are driving us to go out there and strike,” Lightle said.

Union members say low staffing levels put pressure on caregivers and can result in patient safety issues.

They also say they want to see compensation levels that allow staff to live in the community, and further efforts to recruit and retain staff.

Swedish management say they've put forward a strong contract offer and that they’re disappointed with the decision to strike.

“I’m really proud with what we put forward to SEIU, and I have to say that this wasn’t the response that I expected,” Wako said.

A statement on the Swedish website states that they offered a package including an 11.25% wage increase over four years.

It also acknowledges that staffing levels are important. But Wako said union representatives are asking for too much control. Union members say they want equal representation on staffing committees.

This post will be updated as more information is released.