Nurses at HealthAlliance Hospital will get a 19 percent raise over the next three years as part of a new contract with HealthAlliance Hospital parent company WMCHealth. The three year labor agreement covers 200 nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association who work at the hospital on Mary’s Avenue in Kingston.

The contact includes an eight percent pay raise in the first year, six percent in the second and five percent in the third. The deal also increases longevity pay for experienced nurses and establishes nurse to patient staffing ratios. WMCHealth officials say the average starting salary for nurses at the hospital will increase by 24 percent while the total average wage will rise by 40 percent over the life of the contract. WMCHealth, which operates ten hospitals in the Hudson Valley recently reached a contract agreement with nurses at its flagship hospital, Westchester Medical Center.

The negotiations come as hospitals across New York and the nation contend with a nursing shortage that is expected to get worse as an aging population increases demand for medical professionals. HealthAlliance Hospital was hit with a major staffing shortage in the summer of 2021 caused by a combination of layoffs and the unexpected resignation of dozens of experienced nurses in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a series of protests outside the hospital, NYSNA members complained that the nursing shortage was impacting patient care and leaving remaining staff with unsustainable workloads. The shortage has since been addressed by the hospital which recently shut down its Broadway campus to consolidate operations at a newly refurbished Mary’s Avenue facility.

“Our new contract will help us recruit and retain nurses for quality care. The wage increases, including experience differentials, recognize our hard work throughout the pandemic and will help us retain experienced nurses — and that’s a win-win for nurses, our patients, and the community we serve,” said NYSNA Executive Committee President Hannah Kondrat, RN.