WORCESTER, Mass. - Saint Vincent Hospital nurses have delivered a petition to their administration amid growing frustrations over staffing levels and patient safety.

Led by Marlena Pellegrino and Dominique Muldoon, co-chairs of the local bargaining unit with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, a group of more than a dozen nurses demonstrated outside the hospital’s main entrance before submitting their petition inside.

More than 85% of Saint Vincent nurses have signed the petition, and it calls for immediate steps to protect patients and nurses from what the union characterizes as "dangerous conditions and a punitive management culture."

“Whatever feelings they have about us since we went on strike, if they’re still trying to get back at us, whatever the mindset, I don’t know what it is, but we know what we feel in there,” Pellegrino said. “It’s psychological abuse when you walk into that building as far as being a staff nurse.”

Among other requests, nurses would like to see more travel nurses hired and a better bonus program in order to recruit and retain employees.

“We cannot have 250 nurse vacancies and have four, five or ten travelers in the building,” Pellegrino said. “We’re not meeting the patient needs. It’s not a permanent solution, but you have to hire appropriate travelers to get us through this period where we are in a staffing crisis. Nurses are leaving the hospital because of the conditions, and newer nurses are not applying.”

Pellegrino added that even when new nurses do apply, many are leaving within a matter of weeks.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Saint Vincent Hospital said it remains focused on providing high-quality health care services while respecting its contract with the MNA.

“We take employee complaints seriously, however, the MNA’s accusations are unfounded,” the statement read. “We do not condone the MNA’s tactics of organizing publicity stunts, spreading false rumors and intimidating our leadership. The MNA’s actions are disrespectful to the dedicated nurses, physicians and staff at Saint Vincent Hospital who prioritize caring for our patients. We hope the MNA will reconsider its approach, and instead collaborate with us, and other systems facing similar staffing shortages, to increase health care access for the communities we serve.”

This latest move by the MNA comes two weeks after nurses outlined hundreds of complaints they’ve filed in recent months, which detail safety issues like patient falls and long waits for emergency surgeries.

“They need help with everything, even eating and feeding,” Muldoon said. “And when you don't have enough people, all of that takes time. When you don't have enough people to perform those tasks with care, patients suffer. And that's what we've been seeing. No matter how we've alerted our management, there has been no response.”

The Massachusetts Nurses Association is preparing an official complaint under the state’s Healthcare Whistleblower law, which will be filed in Massachusetts Superior Court.