By JD Mullane
After narrowly averting a picket line, nurses at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne voted to ratify a three-year contract that gives them pay bumps while reducing the number of patients per nurse.
More than 94% of the hospital’s 630 nurses comprising the St. Mary United Nurses Union voted for the contract Feb. 18.
The ratification followed 18 hours of bargaining Feb. 16 that threatened “informational picketing” this week. This is the nursing staff’s second contact since forming a union in 2019.
What did the nursing staff get?
“With this contract, St. Mary nurses see massive increases in base wages up to 17% over the lifetime of the contract,” the union said in a statement.
This includes an evening shift increase of $4 an hour and a night shift increase of $5 an hour, with similar hourly increases for working weekends, the union said.
“This contract respects the expertise seasoned nurses bring to the bedside and rewards the essential role we play in patient care,” said Debbi Bozeman, a surgical nurse and staff veteran at the hospital.
What do nurses earn at St. Mary Medical Center?
While salaries weren’t given, nurses at St. Mary in 2025 earned a median of $40 an hour, according to the glassdoor.com, a job search and recruiting site.
What items in the contract benefit patients?
The contract provides for improved bedside staffing, with more nurses tending to fewer patients.
“Numerous studies show that hospitals where RNs care for fewer patients achieve significantly better outcomes, including lower mortality, fewer readmissions, and shorter lengths of stay,” the union said.
“Research also confirms that improved staffing benefits nurses themselves — better-staffed hospitals have lower rates of burnout and job dissatisfaction, and nurses are far less likely to leave when they aren’t forced to risk their licenses or endure moral injury by caring for more patients than is safely possible.”
Why did the union threaten a picketing line?
The nurses kept “Just Culture” in the contract, described in the union statement as a workplace that is “supportive, non-punitive environment that encourages employees to report errors and near-misses without fear of retaliation. It balances accountability by focusing on system fails and improvements, while still holding staff responsible for reckless behavior.”
What does Trinity Health, which owns St. Mary, say about the contract?
Jason Griffith, spokesman for Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, said the medical center is pleased with the contract.
“We are proud to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of our colleagues and patients — with a focus on supporting our nurses in their essential role — while helping to ensure that St. Mary continues to deliver exceptional patient care in support of our mission to serve as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities,” he said.
