Contract expires for nurses at Queen’s hospital on Big Isle
The contract for nurses at Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital in Waimea has expired but negotiations have entered a fourth month.
About 98 nurses, represented by the Hawai‘i Nurses’ Association OPEIU Local 50, have been trying to negotiate a new contract since mid-December.
Their contract expired Monday, and the union says they had hoped a successor contract would be in place by now that offers the same nurse-to-patient staffing ratios that are in the contract of their counterparts at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu and West Oahu.
Darlena Chadwick, chief operating officer of the Queen’s Health Systems, said in a statement Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital and the Hawaii Nurses Association on Feb. 13 reached an agreement on a new contract.
“Thursday, March 27th marked our fifth bargaining session, and although no agreement was made, meetings have been professional, collaborative, and respectful,” Chadwick said in a statement. “We are hopeful that we will soon reach an agreement that our represented nurses can be proud of and support. Our commitment to quality patient care and providing a great environment for nurses are at the core of our focus in these negotiations. Our next bargaining session is on Tuesday, April 8. Although we did not achieve our mutual goal of reaching an agreement by the March 31 contract expiration date, both parties continue to bargain in good faith and operations at QNHCH continue as normal.”
“On February 13, 2025, Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital and the Hawaii Nurses Association (HNA) began the collective bargaining process to reach an agreement on a new contract. Thursday, March 27th marked our fifth bargaining session, and although no agreement was made, meetings have been professional, collaborative, and respectful. We are hopeful that we will soon reach an agreement that our represented nurses can be proud of and support.
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Our commitment to quality patient care and providing a great environment for nurses are at the core of our focus in these negotiations.
Our next bargaining session is on Tuesday, April 8.
Although we did not achieve our mutual goal of reaching an agreement by the March 31 contract expiration date, both parties continue to bargain in good faith and operations at QNHCH continue as normal.”
Darlena Chadwick
The Queen’s Health Systems Chief Operating Officer
