Nurses at Wilcox Medical Center in Lihue, Kauai, will hold an informational picket Wednesday from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in front of the hospital.

The Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association, which represents nearly 160 Wilcox nurses, provided a legally required 10-day advance notification about the picket to Wilcox management.

The nurses have been negotiating with Wilcox, a Hawai‘i Pacific Health hospital, since May 6. The negotiations have focused on ensuring safe staffing levels for quality patient care.

“We are picketing for safe staffing and safe patient care not only for our jobs, but most importantly for our community,” said Sonya Balian-Grande, a Women Infant Health nurse at Wilcox. “We are simply asking for guaranteed nurse-to-patient ratios and safer staffing numbers in our new contract. Our patients trust us to keep them healthy, safe, and alive and we want to do everything we can to maintain that level of trust and care.”

Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women and Children’s recently settled with its nurses after more than a year of negotiations that culminated in Kapi‘olani imposing a 22-day lockout.