Swedish employees to be brought back in stages at end of strike

SEATTLE -- Thousands of striking nurses and other care workers at Swedish Medical Center plan to return to work Friday morning. However, some employees are being told there won't be a job to return to, at least not immediately.

Doctors with Swedish said employees will be brought back in stages. Some people on the picket line Thursday claimed they were threatened by management to be locked out of work as early as Friday morning. Doctors said they wanted to set the record straight.

“That is not the case, we are not locking anyone out of the organization,” said Dr. Elizabeth Wako, chief medical officer for Swedish First Hill.

A three-day strike at Swedish Medical Center will end at 7:30 a.m. Friday. Nearly 8,000 people went on strike for better contracts that include higher wages and increased staffing levels.

“The only way we can get what we need to provide the care we need, the care we love to give is by withholding our labor for this strike,” said Betsy Scott, a nurse of 38 years at Swedish’s oncology department.

Doctors with the hospital say employees will return to work in phases.

“It’s really based on the skill and the skill set and the volume on those units,” said Wako.

Doctors also said the rolling transition was necessary for the hospital to be fiscally responsible. Swedish spent about $11 million for replacements while caregivers were on the picket line. The replacements were asked to work a five-day contract to minimize the impact on patient care.

“Our number one priority is patient safety, so obviously we will be bringing in our caregivers as there are patients to take care of as our volume demonstrates and to make sure that we address the acuity of the patients that we have,” said Wako.

“When I do come back to work, I will tell them thank you for patience. We did this for you. And so sorry if there was any inconvenience in your care, but guarantee you we’re here to give you the best care,” said Valarie Howard, a certified nursing assistant at Swedish for more than 20 years.

Swedish is notifying all employees about when they are expected to return to work. Doctors said everyone will be back on their schedules by Sunday.

All replacements will finish out their five-day contract. Doctors said this is to minimize patient care and ensure the money spent to bring replacements here doesn’t go to waste.