Wendy Gottsegen, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital spokesperson:

“Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital continues to negotiate in good faith with United Steel Workers 4-200, the union representing our nurses. We remain willing and open to continue talking with the goal of averting a strike and reaching a fair and equitable resolution.

“RWJUH has twice accepted the Union’s demands. We have offered to go to arbitration or submit to a board of inquiry, and the Union has rejected both.

“RWJUH nurses are currently the highest paid in the State of New Jersey, based on available public data. On Wednesday, August 2, we extended a new offer to the Union that would further address staffing concerns, institute a $20 per hour bonus for nurses should we fall below those agreed upon staffing standards and further increase on-call pay. Disappointingly, we still have not received any response from the Union.

“Our top priority is to our patients. We remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering the highest-quality care in the safest environment. We want to reassure our patients, their families and our community that regardless of what the Union decides to do, we will continue to care for our patients without interruption. We will remain fully open and continue to deliver the high-quality care they deserve.

“We sincerely hope the Union will reconsider, rescind the strike order and return to the negotiating table to continue bargaining in good faith.”

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 640-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey’s largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and other Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org).  A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. Learn more at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick

RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence and being named to Newsweek’s 2022 list of Best Maternity Care Hospitals. The RWJUH Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association as meeting The Joint Commission’s standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Advanced Certification. RWJUH has also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Spine Surgery; The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Bariatric Services; and The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement services. The Joint Commission also awarded RWJUH a Gold Seal Certification as well as an Advanced Certification in Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Implantation.

For more Information visit us online at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick