WORCESTER, Mass. - From Worcester to Dallas, some nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital left the picket line on Tuesday to bring their concerns to the people in charge of making decisions at Tenet Healthcare. 

"They need to understand what exactly has been going on in Worcester," said Marie Ritacco, a member of the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) and nurse at Saint Vincent Hospital. "It needs to end."

Nurses are in their fourth month of striking over what they call unsafe patient care. Nurses plan to present Tenet with a petition signed by more than 700 nurses, calling for executives to put an end to the strike by providing better staffing at the hospital.​

"It is time for Tenet to take the gravity of the situation for what it is and that is why we are taking this big step of going to Dallas," said MNA member and nurse, Marlena Pellegrino. "We hope they will receive that message to clearly and honestly get back to the table and end this." 

What You Need To Know

  • Nurses say they are striking over unsafe patient care and staffing concerns
  • Tuesday marked day 121 of the strike
  • 20 MNA members are headed to Dallas to present Tenet Healthcare with a petition
  • The hospital sent over a fourth offer to nurses on Tuesday morning 

But, Saint Vincent Hospital president and CEO, Carolyn Jackson, said members of MNA chose the trip to Dallas instead of an in-person meeting at the bargaining table. 

"It is going to accomplish nothing." said Jackson. "They wanted to go to Dallas and have a little bit of theatrics instead of sitting down and meet with us in person for the first time in 15 months."

The hospital sent over a fourth offer to nurses on Tuesday morning and said it includes significant changes in staffing numbers. ​

The MNA said they will be joined by about 100 other supporters who will help line the Tenet headquarter sidewalks and present the petition to Tenet Healthcare on Wednesday.