GRESHAM, Ore. — Nurses at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Gresham have voted to unionize with the Oregon Nurses Association, the state's largest nursing staff organization.
A "supermajority" of the hospital's nurses voted to join the organization in an election held Wednesday and Thursday, and 360 nurses will be joining the union, according to a Friday news release from ONA.
"Being part of a union of nurses feels more than right. In this moment, it feels necessary in the face of corporate greed and the 'profit over patients' business model that has become health care in America," Legacy Mount Hood emergency department nurse Bee Edwards said in a statement.
ONA already represents nurses at Legacy's Silverton Medical Center and its Unity Center for Behavioral Health in Portland. ONA said the Mount Hood nurses will begin bargaining for a first contract that "strengthens local decision making in health care, improves community safety and restores respect for frontline nurses and health care professionals."
Asked for comment, a Legacy spokesperson referred KGW to a statement posted online:
"We respect the decision by a majority of our nurses at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center to choose to be represented by the Oregon Nurses Association. Legacy is committed to open, respectful and productive relationships with our employees, regardless of whether they are represented by a union or not," Legacy wrote.
Birth center closure
The ONA news release mentioned the recent closure of the Family Birth Center at Legacy Mount Hood, and said unionized nurses at the hospital were "leading the campaign to save" the center.
Legacy announced closure plans for the birth center in January, citing high operating costs relative to the number of babies delivered at the center and a lack of available doctors to staff the unit. The Oregonian reported at the time that four of the center's seven doctors quit after Legacy proposed to switch the birth center to a less-costly operating model.
The closure plan drew criticism from elected officials and community members, who argued that the birth center was essential for the east Multnomah County community and Legacy's plan to divert pregnant patients to Randall Children's Hospital in North Portland would add too much travel time.
The Oregon Health Authority warned against closing the center a few days before the planned shutdown, saying that Legacy's general hospital license required it to provide maternity services, including birth services, unless it obtained a waiver from the state.
Legacy applied for a waiver in advance, but OHA said it was still evaluating the application when the closure took effect on March 17 — and the agency announced last week that it had denied the waiver and would begin a separate investigation into Legacy's decision to close the center without permission.
When asked Friday, the Legacy spokesperson said the hospital system had no new comment on the birth center closure and referred KGW to a prior March 29 statement.
