Menorah Medical Center nurses ratify pact with HCA hospital

Registered nurses at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park followed their counterparts at Research Medical Center in Kansas City by approving a new labor agreement with the HCA-affiliated hospitals.

Both were among 17 hospitals affiliated with the Nashville, Tenn.- based group to accept the pact reached by administrators and negotiators of National Nurses United, which represents the 8,000 nurses.

A statement from the union said its members voted “overwhelmingly to ratify” the agreement across the hospitals.

“We’re pleased that we have reached a tentative agreement with this union,” HCA Midwest Health spokeswoman Christine Hamele said in an email before the votes were final. “We look forward to continuing our focus on providing the quality of care our patients deserve.”

In addition to pay raises and changes in working conditions, the agreement sets up pilot programs that provide relief nurses so scheduled nurses can take meal and rest breaks.

Pay increases at Menorah and Research will be the largest among less experienced nurses to help recruit more nurses. Pay increases also were higher for more experienced nurses, those with 16 years or more of experience, to help retain skilled nurses.

National Nurses United represents the nurses at the 17 hospitals in five states. It does not represent nurses at other HCA-affiliated hospitals in the Kansas City area.

The union said the pay increases at the 17 hospitals especially will help those in Southern states where nurses’ wages are “well below the national average.”

Data show that nurses in Missouri and Kansas are among the bottom 10 states for median salary.

According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report on nursing that used figures from May 2014, only six states trailed Kansas’ median salary of $55,880, and Missouri was 10th lowest at $56,670.

Some of the lowest-paid states are in the South — Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama — but the Midwest also fared poorly. Nebraska is sandwiched with Tennessee between Missouri and Kansas. At the very bottom of the list are Iowa, at $53,220, and South Dakota, at $52,090.

The bottom-rung states tend to have lower costs of living, just as the best-paid states are also expensive places to live. The highest average registered nurse earnings are in California, $96,470; Hawaii, $90,220; Alaska, $85,530; Oregon, $83,650; and Massachusetts, $81,380.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 9:29 AM.