HOULTON, Maine — Patients waiting in hallways and babies being delivered in the emergency department pushed Houlton Regional Hospital registered nurses to call a two-day strike that will begin Nov. 18, according to the Maine State Nurses union.
The nurses, represented by the Maine State Nurses Association and National Nurses Organizing Committee, notified the hospital administration of the strike on Nov. 7.
In September, registered nurses at Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent and Houlton Regional Hospital in Houlton authorized bargaining teams to call a strike if their contract negotiations with management didn’t move forward
HRH nurses have been negotiating for over a year for a new contract. The previous contract expired on Nov. 30, 2024. A continued lack of response by Houlton hospital administrators led to the decision to call next week’s strike, according to nurse representatives.
“For the past several years, hospital management has consistently relied on travel nurses to help staff the hospital,” Michael MacArthur, RN in the emergency department, said in a statement. “We need to retain our experienced nurses who live in the area. We get plenty of nurses to come, but they leave. We need a strong contract that protects us and our patients and attracts and retains excellent nurses.”
In late May, executives at Northern Maine Medical Center — President and CEO Jeff Zewe and Chief Financial Officer Aaron Teachout — took over the management of the Houlton hospital through a one-year agreement. The Fort Kent administrators are in charge of operations at both hospitals, although they operate as independent entities under the direction of their respective boards of trustees.
Hospital administrators were not immediately available for comment.
Emergency department short staffing is an ongoing issue, particularly during the night shift, according to the union. Nurses say patients are often housed in hallway beds due to the lack of available inpatient beds and the severity of their conditions.
The May closing of the hospital’s labor and delivery unit means that ED nurses have to stabilize pregnant patients for transport elsewhere and to deliver babies in the emergency room, according to a union release.
“This is a close community; our patients are our neighbors,” Tenille Nason, emergency department RN, said in a release. “We have seen over the last five years the emergency department consistently filled with sicker patients. To provide optimal, timely care, sicker patients require additional staffing, but staffing has not changed. We need to do better for our community.”
