After more than a year of negotiations, the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) labor union has reached an agreement with PeaceHealth.

Priorities among the hospice and home nurses include wage increases, raising safety standards, ensuring affordable and accessible home health care delivery, equitable pay protection and addressing clinical staffing crises by increasing recruitment and retention of skilled caregivers.

In February, about 90 PeaceHealth home health and hospice participated in a strike between Feb. 1 and Feb. 14. The nurses involved in the strike care for more than 500 patients. PeaceHealth contracted a local agency to provide temporary caregiver support to patients during the two-week strike.

“I want to send a sincere thank you to the many elected leaders, union allies, community groups and supporters from all walks of life who signed a petition, attended a rally, marched with us on the picket line and showed their appreciation for nurses,” said Jo Turner, ONA bargaining unit chair and nurse at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services, in a statement. “I’m touched by the support nurses and our patients received from people in every part of Lane County [Oregon].”

Provisions of the agreement include the following, according to ONA:

• Policies to ensure that nurses who are exposed to communicable diseases can isolate themselves to avoid compromising vulnerable, home-bound populations.
• Establishment of an interdisciplinary workplace violence prevention committee to address workplace violence and prevention; physical and verbal abuse; and harassment issues unique to home care environments.
• Increased support for nurses’ professional development and education.
• Creation of a health benefits task force to explore workers’ and families’ health needs and make recommendations to keep care accessible and affordable.
• Wage increases up to 16% over four years and raises pay for nurses with advanced degrees and skills. 
• A one-time bonus for nurses still with PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services in Jan. 2025.

PeaceHealth operates two hospice locations in Oregon, along with six others in Alaska and Washington state. The nonprofit health system offers hospice, palliative, pediatric, primary and immediate and urgent care, along with behavioral health and home-based services, among others. The system also operates medical centers, critical access hospitals and hospice facilities in Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

In August 2023, PeaceHealth reached an agreement with hospital nurses that raised wages 8%. Nurses with three years of experience now receive an hourly wage of $47.74. This was close to double the 4.75% increase the health system most recently offered home health and hospice nurses, or an hourly wage of $43.31. ONA indicated in a statement that, despite the increase, home-based care nurses will still be paid less than hospital staff.

In February, ONA filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board regarding potential cuts to nurses’ health care benefits, according to a statement from the union.

An estimated 25% of home care and hospice nurses have left PeaceHealth throughout the course of the negotiations, according to the ONA. Prior to the new agreement, the union indicated that an additional one-third of the PeaceHealth home health and hospice nursing workforce were anticipated to leave the health system unless a satisfactory deal could be reached.

“We know there’s more work to be done to expand access to health care and to keep holding PeaceHealth accountable to our community,” Turner said. “I believe we can build on the work of our community coalitions and continue raising standards to make sure everyone in our community has access to high-quality, affordable health care.”