‘Had to come to this’: Nurses strike looms at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Nurses at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center are sending a warning to the hospital – meet their demands or they strike.    

For the first time since they joined the Oregon Nurses Association, the Gresham medical center’s 400-plus registered nurses voted to authorize a strike. However, a date has yet to be set.

“Hopefully we can sit down with Legacy, with this strike authorization sort of in our pocket and hopefully come to a deal,” said Annie Davidson, a registered nurse at Legacy Mount Hood.

For nearly two years, they have been bargaining over pay, recruiting and retaining staff, patient care and benefits.

“In order to give excellent patient care, we need excellent nurses,” Davidson added “It’s been really hard to recruit new nurses to us and also to retain the nurses that we have. Because Legacy has just fallen behind in their wages over the last couple of years.”

When asked if patients and their families should be concerned about getting care, Davidson said any strike will only be for “a limited duration.”

“Honestly, it’s only going to benefit them in the long run,” she noted. “We’ll have skeleton crews and that kind of thing. So there’s always going to be someone there. Our doors are always open if you need medical attention.”

Legacy Health released the statement below on the strike authorization:

We remain hopeful we can reach agreement with our nurses at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center ahead of a strike, and we continue to engage in good faith bargaining with the Oregon Nurses Association as we work to reach an agreement which benefits our employees, patients and the communities we serve.

ONA officials said that, if a deal isn’t reached, the nurses are prepared to strike.

“I hate that it had to come to this, that the nurses had to vote to take action in order for Legacy to move toward us,” Davidson said.

Mediation sessions are scheduled for Aug. 22 and Aug. 28.