Nurses rally for improved wages and conditions

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Home health nurses at the largest health care system in western Massachusetts are asking for better wages.

The nurses picketed outside of Baystate Medical Center in Springfield on Thursday evening. It comes after Baystate Health announced dozens of layoffs earlier this week.

Those involved have been advocating for a three-percent raise for a year now. They say their wages should represent the time and effort they put into their work. Among the many nurses who were demonstrating included those who work closely with cancer patients or those facing a life-altering illness.

Kathy Bishop, a nurse at Baystate, told 22News, "I have patients that have become family members between weddings and funerals and baby showers and all the above, when you're out sick, they want to know where you are, we go beyond the scope of nursing."

Baystate Health has recently completed a restructuring plan that included layoffs, resulting in a 7% reduction in its workforce since last November. This plan involved multiple rounds of job cuts, including the most recent announcement of 43 positions eliminated this week.

Several nurses plan to meet with their attorney on Friday and a union representative over contract negotiations.