Trenton – Senator Joe Vitale, Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, issued the following statement regarding the ratification of a new, three-year contract between nurses and management at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick:
“The agreement reached this week between nurses and management at RWJ University Hospital is a win for public health, and the collective health and well-being of our state. Nurses at RWJ work long and difficult shifts and deserve to be rewarded for their dedication and commitment.
“We sometimes forget that nurses in this high-stress work environment also lead their own lives, with families, and children and routine commitments, as well as illnesses or unforeseen emergencies.
“At the very least, these front-line, health care heroes deserve safe staffing standards, adequate sick day policies and better overall work conditions and insurance benefits. Improving nurses’ workplace experience will help RWJ continue to deliver quality care to patients, and will in turn improve the overall health of our state.”