FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2025
Oberlin, Ohio –– Nurses at Mercy Health – Allen Hospital, represented by the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA) and AFT, have overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement by 94%, making it clear they cannot accept a contract that ignores the staffing and patient care crisis inside their hospital. Nurses are demanding real solutions to ensure safe patient care, fair working conditions, and the resources necessary to recruit and retain staff.
“No local hospital leaders who know us, our patients, or our community were at the table,” said Rob Watchorn, President of the Mercy-Allen Nurses Local Union and an Emergency Room Nurse at the hospital. “Nurses care for sick people every day, but the hospital doesn’t allow us to be sick. When we are sick, we’re blamed, threatened with discipline, and struggling to afford our own healthcare. Who will care for this community when we’re sick and falling apart? Certainly not our non-clinical millionaire executives. We just can’t do it anymore — we need help, support, and resources.”
The ongoing staffing crisis is pushing nurses to the brink—exhausted, demoralized, and unable to sustain the level of care their patients need and deserve. Rather than addressing these critical issues, hospital leadership continues to make decisions from miles away, detached from the reality inside the hospital walls.
ONA President and Executive Director Rick Lucas underscored the urgency of the situation, stating, “When 94% of nurses say ‘no,’ it’s not a bargaining tactic—it’s a desperate plea for change. Safe staffing, real support, and fair compensation are not luxuries; they are the foundation of quality patient care. If Mercy Health wants to recruit and retain nurses, it starts with valuing the ones they have now. Executives must stop ignoring the patient care crisis they’ve created.”
Mercy-Allen nurses are calling on Mercy Health to return to the table with real solutions—before conditions deteriorate even further for both staff and patients.
###
About ONA
Formed in 1904, the Ohio Nurses Association is a powerful network of nurses and health professionals. Our mission is to unite and empower nurses and health professionals, championing their rights, promoting professional practice, and advocating for quality care for all patients in Ohio, while fostering a strong and cohesive professional union community. To learn more or to become a member of the Ohio Nurses Association, visit www.ohnurses.org.
Contact: Michelle Day
Director of Communications & Technology
mday@ohnurses.org