As Hawaii’s only full-service women’s and children’s hospital, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children is committed to providing consistent, high-quality care for our patients.
We greatly appreciate our nurses for the work they do and the impact they have on our patients and community.
Negotiation Status
Kapiolani and HNA have been negotiating a new contract for Kapiolani nurses since September 2023.
We value our nurses and the offer we presented to HNA on Dec. 21 demonstrates that.
We remain committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible so our nurses can benefit from the improvements a new contract would provide.
Updates as of April 12, 2024
HNA agreed to using a federal mediator in our negotiations. We are pleased with this development as we believe it’s beneficial to everyone to have a neutral third party help us move forward.
To date, we’ve had four sessions together. The next session is scheduled for April 18.
KEY TOPICS
Patient Safety and Quality Measures
Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children is well recognized as a leader in the care of women, infants and children for more than 100 years.
Committed to excellence, Kapiolani falls within the top tier of hospitals nationwide for positive patient experience, notably ranking:
- In the top 5% in the country for pediatric patient experience.
- In the top 10% in the country for adult patient experience.
Kapiolani performs better than the top children’s hospitals in the country for preventing hospital-acquired harm. We are ranked “excellent” by U.S. News & World Report for protecting our most vulnerable babies from infections in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Additionally, Kapiolani has been named among the top-ranked hospitals for positive patient outcomes following surgery, in each of the last five years.
Nurse Staffing
Fixed nurse-to-patient ratios are being talked about because some believe they will help address the staffing shortage seen across the health care field not only in Hawaii, but across the nation.
Fixed ratios do not produce more nurses. Currently, California is the only state in the U.S. to have comprehensive staffing ratios in place. They have been in place for decades and have not helped workforce shortages there. California’s use of travel nurses to meet staffing needs is among the highest in the country. Nurses in California say the biggest challenge with their fixed ratios is lack of flexibility.
- Learn more: Mandatory Staff Ratios not Nursing Answer (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
Our offer includes:
- Proposed staffing guidelines that provide the ability to adjust based on the individual condition and needs of our patients.
- Our proposed staffing guidelines would be enforceable through the same procedures as the rest of the collective bargaining agreement.
- Our staffing proposal also includes innovative ways to collaborate on staffing that would provide nurses with transparency and flexibility with their own schedules, as well as a voice in the staffing process.
Wages
We value our nurses, which is why we included highly competitive wage increases as part of our offer presented to the union.
Our offer includes:
- Across-the-board raises for all nurses.
- Full-time nurses would make $124,000 to $151,000 in the first year, with additional raises in each of the next two years for a three-day, 36-hour work week. This does not include premium pay and voluntary overtime.
- Longevity pay for years of service for experienced nurses.
Our offer would make experienced nurses at Kapiolani among the highest paid nurses in the state.
Hawaii nurses are already the second-highest paid nurses in the nation.
In addition, all employees receive a comprehensive benefits package that includes health and dental insurance, paid vacation, tuition reimbursement, retirement savings plan matching program and more.
Good-Faith Bargaining
Kapiolani’s goal has always been to reach an agreement that demonstrates how much we value our nurses.
We began negotiations with HNA in September 2023 and have held 24 bargaining sessions to date. We have listened and addressed the items HNA identified as priorities for our nurses. Among their top priorities were wages and staffing. This is reflected in the fair and generous offer we put forward to the union.
We remain committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible so our nurses can benefit from the improvements a new contract would provide.
Updates as of April 12, 2024
HNA agreed to using a federal mediator in our negotiations. We are pleased with this development as we believe it’s beneficial to everyone to have a neutral third party help us move forward.
To date, we’ve had four sessions together. The next session is scheduled for April 18.