About 400 unionized registered nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, or PASNAP, voted late last week to ratify a new contract.

Nurses voted 269-26 in favor of the new contract, which will expire April 16, 2022, according to Tammy May, local PASNAP president and registered ICU surgical nurse at Butler Memorial Hospital.

“Through solidarity, we were able to improve staffing, add security measures and maintain good benefits for our members, so we can continue to provide service excellence for our community,” May said.

The three-year contract set minimum staffing levels and an enforceable staffing resolution procedure in the event of a dispute. The contract also addresses procedures to keep the hospital safe.

“Butler County as a whole and the world as a whole is not as safe as it used to be,” May said. “Workplace violence is highest in health care. We live and breathe that every day, with families and patients dealing with the worst circumstances of their lives.”

Butler Health System declined to comment.

This is an excerpt — read more about the contract in Tuesday's Butler Eagle.