Rhode Island

Rhode Island Hospital Operator Begins Using Temporary Workers Amid Strike

About 2,400 nurses and other healthcare workers at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital began a strike Monday

A hospital operator in Rhode Island is using temporary workers to care for hundreds of patients after nurses went on strike.

About 2,400 nurses and other healthcare workers at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children's Hospital began what's expected to be a weeklong strike Monday.

Local 5098 of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals called for the strike.

Hospital operator Lifespan said late Monday that several hundred temporary workers were quickly incorporated into patient care teams.

A spokesman says Rhode Island Hospital is caring for about 400 inpatients, which could increase to 525 inpatients during the week.

Lifespan says it offered wage increases ranging from 9 percent to 25 percent over four years, but the union sought higher increases. A union spokesman declined to say specifically what they requested.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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