Nurses at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital said Wednesday they are set to strike March 13.

The union representing registered nurses at the hospital, ACMH Nurses United, issued a strike notice to the hospital Wednesday, saying they will begin striking at 7 a.m. March 13, according to a statement issued by the union.

ACMH Nurses United in January voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike, claiming at that time negotiations between the union and the hospital had stalled. Most at issue in negotiations, the union said in January, were recruitment and retention of staff.

The union said Wednesday the hospital lost more than 40 nurses since 2021, claiming they left for other hospitals in the region paying $6 more per hour.

Adding more patients to a nurse’s workload increases the chances of death for surgical patients, the union claimed, with increased errors, increased patient complications and decreased patient satisfaction being more likely each time a nurse has more than four patients.

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