Rhode Island Hospital is easing some service restrictions as nurses and other union employees continue their strike.
Rhode Island Hospital is accepting stroke patients again. And ambulances are no longer being diverted to other hospital emergency rooms.
State health officials said Tuesday they lifted those restrictions imposed during the first day of the strike. On Monday afternoon, about 2,400 nurses and other members of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals Local 5098 walked out. The two sides were in contract talks with a federal mediator. The union’s contract expired June 30th.
Hospital administrators said they paid a staffing agency $10 million to hire temporary workers.
Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital are operating at about 75-to-85 percent capacity, the hospitals’ president, Margaret Van Bree, said.
“We always would prefer that our nurses were there taking care of our patients,’’ she said. “In the meantime, we are doing everything we can and feel very confident about the quality of care provided at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital.’’
State health officials visited Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital throughout the day Monday and on Tuesday morning to observe operations, state Health Director, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, said in a statement. The hospitals “are functioning safely and appropriately,” she said, adding that health officials will continue to monitor the situation.
Other local hospitals are feeling the effects of the strike. State health officials said two other local hospitals briefly stopped accepting ambulances due to crowding.
(So Landmark almost four hours. RWU partial diversion for 7 hours)
Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, ambulances were diverted for a total of seven hours. At Roger Williams Hospital, in Providence, ambulances transporting patients needing behavioral healthcare services were diverted for a total of 7 hours. Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, diverted all ambulances for 4 1/2 hours.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the hospitals’ diversion hours.
