Why would Providence take away nurses’ benefits?

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 12, 2021

I was born at Everett General Hospital, which later became the Colby Campus of Providence. In 2002 the staff there saved my life. We’ve been neighbors to the hospital for 47 years.

Although we don’t know anyone who works there, we’ve had multiple instances to admire their professional dedication and skills. We care deeply about the staff’s well-being.

Now they are engaged in contract negotiations with the hospital administration. One administration goal is taking back staff benefits such as sick leave.

Think of a mugger “negotiating” how much he will take from his victim.

When The Herald Business Journal published a special Nurses Week tribute, Providence ran an ad stating “Please join us in thanking our nurses, today and every day, for their compassion and commitment to care for all.”

That’s very nice but they should have candidly added “However, we pay them way too much and we want to take away some of their benefits.”

Trygve Anderson

Everett