About 60 nurses at MetroHealth's Cleveland Heights Behavioral Health Hospital have locked in their first union contract, union leaders said Friday. The deal brings stronger workplace-safety protections, across-the-board pay bumps, and guardrails meant to prevent sharp spikes in employee health-insurance costs at the Cleveland Heights facility, which opened in 2022 and has 112 inpatient beds.
Patty Kane, president of the psychiatric nurses’ unit, told Cleveland.com, “It feels great to bring our first contract negotiation to a successful conclusion.” The vote covers roughly 60 nurses represented by the Ohio Nurses Association, according to the union.
What the contract covers
Union leaders say the agreement creates enforceable safety rules intended to curb patient-related assaults and gives nurses more say over scheduling, use of leave, and access to extra hours. It also includes wage increases and language crafted to limit major jumps in employee health-insurance costs, as reported by Cleveland.com.
Nurses had pushed safety as a top bargaining issue
Staff had gone public with concerns about violent or sexually aggressive patients being placed alongside nonviolent patients, urging MetroHealth to rethink placement protocols and staffing levels. A statewide Ohio Nurses Association survey and local coverage highlighted how common the problem had become. Becker’s Behavioral Health reported that roughly 65% of direct-care nurses in Ohio experienced workplace violence in the previous year, a number that helped put safety at the center of the nurses’ demands.
Part of a broader union push at MetroHealth
The behavioral health deal lands as other MetroHealth workers move to organize. Primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants have recently filed to form a union with AFSCME, organizers say. Organizing drives across the region have drawn extra scrutiny, including allegations that two physicians were fired during another system’s union effort, claims the hospitals denied, according to organizers and reporting by Primary Care Providers Union and Ideastream Public Media.
Looking ahead
Union leaders say the contract should boost retention and morale on a high-acuity unit, while MetroHealth points to its ongoing efforts around staff safety and evidence-based prevention. MetroHealth describes a “comprehensive, multi-layered safety policy” that incorporates prevention, intervention, and post-incident review, and notes the Cleveland Heights facility, which opened in 2022, cost about $42 million, and contains 112 inpatient beds. Both sides say they want the agreement to steady staffing and strengthen care on the unit in the months ahead.
