Rochester General Hospital's Preparedness for a Strike

Absolutely. RGH is fully prepared and equipped with a comprehensive strike plan to continue to serve our patients during a possible RUNAP strike. All procedures, tests, and exams are proceeding as scheduled. The care, safety, and comfort of our patients will continue to be our top priority. RGH will continue to provide quality patient care and will ensure uninterrupted access to care for our patients and the community.

We have contracted with a nationally respected agency to hire temporary replacement nurses who have been carefully screened, selected, and trained on RGH’s systems and protocols. All replacement nurses meet, or exceed, licensing and credentialing requirements. We are confident in their clinical expertise and ability to work alongside our nurse leadership, physicians, and other staff to deliver outstanding patient care.

You should plan on coming to RGH for your test or procedure as scheduled and you will receive the same level of exceptional care that you have come to expect from RGH.

RGH is fully equipped to continue to provide quality patient care during the RUNAP strike, which is currently scheduled for August 3rd and 4th. We will continue to serve our patients and are committed to keeping RGH operations running with minimal interruption. Union-represented nurses who choose to strike will likely set up a picket line on public sidewalks around the hospital each day of the strike. Picketers are not allowed by law to interfere with access to the hospital, so everyone – employees, patients and visitors -- will have the right to freely come and go.

Replacement nurses have been contracted so that we can provide uninterrupted care with orientation prior to their deployment. Security will be increased for the protection of our employees, patients and their visitors.

Since October 12, RGH has engaged in 16 bargaining sessions with the nurses’ union. We have come to each session prepared and focused on reaching a contract that’s good for nurses, patients the community and RGH. Both the nurses’ union (RUNAP) and RGH have made numerous proposals and have engaged in detailed discussions during their negotiation sessions.

Not at all. Our nurses are exceptional professionals, and they are essential to our ability to provide the highest quality care; we are grateful for their commitment to their patients and RGH. We hope our nurses will not be asked or compelled to walk out on the patients and families who depend on them to provide high-quality, compassionate care.

No. The strike action is limited to Rochester General Hospital (RGH) and does not impact any other facility within the Rochester Regional Health network. Our other hospitals and healthcare facilities continue to operate as usual, ensuring uninterrupted access to quality patient care for our community.