Picketing Kadlec nurses report 100+ violent attacks, weapon incidents in hospital

Over the past four months nurses at the Tri-Cities’ largest hospital have reported 109 incidents of workplace violence to the Washington State Nurses Association.

“I’ve been punched in the face, spit on, shoved into walls, kicked and most recently a chair was swung at me,” said one emergency nurse at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in a recent survey, according to the WSNA.

All of those incidents caused injuries, some serious enough that the nurse missed work.

For years, nurses have been telling management of the hospital that they are not doing enough to protect workers, patients and their families from violence, said emergency department nurse Crystal Rivera during an informational picket Monday morning in front of the Richland hospital.

“Scrubs are not armor,” and “Put patient safety over profits,” said some of the signs waved by about 100 nurses and their supporters.

The Washington State Nurses Association has been negotiating a new contract for 1,054 Kadlec nurses since September. The picket is not a strike and nurses continue to report to work at Kadlec as usual.

Workplace violence

Nurses not only have been attacked, including being strangled and spit on, but some offenders also have brought weapons into the hospital, Rivera said.

That includes guns, knives, razor blades, small blowtorches and even a cane sword, and visitors have threatened to kidnap or kill nurses, says union officials.

“These are all things that could be prevented,” Rivera said.

Kadlec needs to take action to prevent violence or threats of violence, rather than responding after events occur, say nurses.

The WSNA has proposed a weapons detection system at both the emergency department entrance and also the main entrance to the Richland hospital. It also has asked for more security, particularly in high-risk areas like the emergency department.

Kadlec has agreed to strengthen language related to its Workplace Violence Committee, but has rejected major security enhancements as “extreme and unreasonable” in contract bargaining, says the WSNA

“They want to stay with the status quo,” Rivera said.

But those who are on the front lines with patients and visitors, say that is not working, she said.

Kadlec responded with a statement saying, “We care deeply for our nurses and their well-being. We remain fully committed to reaching a fair agreement that supports our nurses while also ensuring we can continue to provide safety, high quality and reliable care to those who depend on us.”

Some other Providence hospitals already check for weapons, Rivera said. Kadlec joined the Providence Health system in 2014.

“When management says current efforts are robust, they are not listening to the people here day and night,” she said.

Breaks for Kadlec nurses

Nurses also are calling for Kadlec to honor their meal and rest breaks.

Routinely working through breaks is not safe for nurses or their patients “and we’re tired of it,” Rivera said.

The WSNA quoted one ICU nurse as saying that “on a recent Saturday, we had three codes. We can’t take a break with this kind of trauma.”

The union is proposing making breaks possible by adding relief nurses to care for patients during breaks, particularly in emergency departments and the intensive care unit.

The WSNA says that in units where nurses frequently miss breaks, turnover rates are higher.

While the overall turnover for registered nurses for the 12-month period ending in August 2025 was almost 13%, the rate in the ICU was a little more than 21%, it said.

Now almost half of Kadlec nurses have five years or less of experience, an indication that Kadlec has trouble retaining nurses, the WSNA said.

It is calling for a wage structure that offers advancement based on experience and longevity.

Kadlec said in a statement that its leadership and the Washington State Nurses Association have had constructive discussions since bargaining began and that progress had been made. However, significant issues remain unresolved, Kadlec said.

It pledged to continue to act with integrity and transparency.

Although Kadlec respects nurses’ right to have informational pickets, it is disappointed they would choose to have one, according to the hospital.

“... (W)e believe the best place to resolve outstanding issues is at the bargaining table, through open discussion and good-faith negotiations,” Kadlec said.

This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 4:21 PM.