Violent patients a top concern for nurses. Here’s what their new contract does

Nurses at the Tri-Cities’ largest hospital have voted to approve a new contract negotiated to give them more protection from workplace violence and provide adequate staffing to allow them meal and rest breaks.

The Washington State Nurses Association announced the results of its members’ vote Wednesday morning after negotiating with Kadlec Regional Medical Center since September.

The new contract will run through October 2028, Kadlec said.

A key win for nurses is an agreement that security staff will be assigned at all times to the Richland hospital’s emergency department and Kadlec’s free-standing emergency department in Kennewick.

Signs will be posted at entrances to the hospital saying weapons are prohibited.

Changes also will be made to Kadlec’s Committee on Workplace Violence to require co-leadership by a management and non-management employee and better access to data on reported incidents of violence.

In January nurses held an information picket in front of the Richland hospital, saying that Kadlec nurses had reported 109 incidents of workplace violence to the union over the past four months.

“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 department nurse in a union survey.

Better security should protect not only workers, but also patients and their families from violence, nurses said.

Steps to help make sure nurses get breaks during long shifts also should improve safety, nurses said during bargaining.

Routinely working through breaks is not safe for nurses or their patients, they said at the January informational picket.

Under the new contract, a review process of breaks with nurses having input on decisions is planned. Recommendations will be made for improved staffing, and a pilot program for providing fill-in nurses during breaks is planned.

The new contract also includes an average wage increase of about 12% total over the next three years. A retention bonus also was negotiated.

“This agreement reflects six months of diligent work at the bargaining table, and we are grateful that together we were able to reach an agreement that supports our valued nurses and our mission,” Kadlec said in a statement Wednesday.

“We look forward to continuing to work together to deliver the safe, compassionate, high-quality care that our community knows and depends on us for,” it said.

This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 12:25 PM.