The Asante emergency room entrance in Medford. Asante did not respond to the Dollar For report but said it has provided nearly $177 million in community benefit spending — which includes charity care — from Oct. 1, 2021, to Sept. 30, 2022.

Nurses at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford have reached a tentative agreement with hospital administration on a new labor contract that includes sizable wage hikes.

If the agreement is ratified this week, nurses will immediately get an additional $10 per hour, retroactive to Sept. 30, when the existing collective bargaining agreement expired. In 2024, they will receive a cost-of-living increase of 4%, followed by another 4% increase in 2025.

The raises will make the nurses’ wages competitive with those of their counterparts at hospitals like St. Charles Bend and Oregon Health and Science University, according to Kevin Mealy, a spokesperson with the Oregon Nurses Association, which represents

Rogue Regional’s frontline nurses.

The agreement also limits “floating” — the practice of moving nurses from their “home” department to units outside of their specialty.

“Medicine — and hospital medicine in particular — has become so complex that it’s often very specialized. So by limiting floating, you make sure that the patients are getting care from nurses who are best trained to treat whatever type of patients are on that specific unit,” Mealy said.

He added: “Sort of like: You wouldn’t have the orthopedist conduct your brain surgery and the brain surgeon conduct your foot surgery. You keep nurses in areas where they have the skills to treat patients.”

Nurses at Asante have worried about what they perceive as unsafe staffing levels. The agreement does not directly address this concern.

“Hopefully, with those increases in wages, we’re able to recruit more folks and keep them for longer,” Mealy said.

In addition, the agreement restrains Rogue Regional’s ability to use travel nurses, who fill roles in hospitals for a temporary period and often earn much more than staff nurses.

Some travel nurses have seen their short-term contracts extended again and again, suggesting that permanent employees are needed.

According to the new

contract, if Rogue Regional hires a travel nurse who, in an 18-month period, works 12 months or more at the hospital, that person would have to become a staff

nurse.

“When we have a yearlong or more need for one position, obviously that’s a full-time, long-term need,” Mealy said, “so let’s recruit and fill that with a full-time, long-term local nurse, who does make less than these temporary, expensive travel nurses.”

The change could also save Rogue Regional money in the short run by allowing the hospital to cut down on costly travel-nurse contracts, Mealy said.

The agreement does not remedy what the nurses believe to be inadequate health benefits. It does, however, create an Asante-wide “benefits council” to address nurses’ concerns with their health plans.

“We’re creating a space to have those conversations, but there won’t be any immediately changes to a health plan at this point,” Mealy said.

The council will include five seats for nurses, as well as seats for other workers and management staff.

The nurses’ bargaining team could not win more holidays, according to an ONA newsletter.

Lauren Van Sickle, Asante communications manager, said in a statement Sunday: “Asante and the Oregon Nurses Association have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year contract renewal. We appreciate all of our caregivers as we continue the high-quality and compassionate services Asante provides to the region.”

Nurses elected to the bargaining team have signed off on the agreement.

This week, the team will take the agreement to the union membership for a ratification vote. If the vote passes, the tentative contract becomes the official contract.

The ONA represents more than 900 nurses at Rogue Regional.

“We’re optimistic and believe that it will be approved by the membership,” Mealy said.