Thank you to all the nurses at Enumclaw Regional Hospital for your tireless and excellent patient care. The nurses are hard-working people who are doing a great job, especially with the changes that are happening in the hospital with the new Franciscan management. They are in their sixth month of negotiating with the Franciscan system trying to get better nursing care at our hospital. The nurses want a higher ratio of RNs to patients which would provide a higher quality of care and safety to the patients of Enumclaw Regional Hospital. We need a wage increase for our nurses so they can be competitive with the surrounding hospitals.

We have lost a lot of talented nurses at our hospital because they can make more money elsewhere (8 percent more at Valley). It is depressing to train and have skilled nurses that we lose to other hospitals due to our lower wages. The nurses are also asking for more educational opportunities which will raise the skill level of nursing care.

I would like to let the nurses of Enumclaw Regional Hospital know they are appreciated and I support their negotiation process. I understand that it is frustrating to negotiate for six months and feel like their voices are not being heard, but future patients of the hospital will benefit from your time and effort. Keep up your good work.

Please call 360-825-2505 and tell the Franciscan management that you support your local nurses and their efforts to provide the best and safest care for our community hospital.

Dr. Nancy Becker

Enumclaw