While there has been bargaining progress on early-career wages, clinicians are urging BVNA to invest in experienced staff to support safe patient care

PITTSFIELD, Mass., Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association (BVNA) nurses and healthcare professionals, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), delivered a petition to BVNA management at 4 p.m. Monday, October 26, calling for a fair contract that supports recruitment, retains experienced clinicians and protects the time needed to care for patients safely at home. The parties next meet for bargaining on October 28.

The petition comes as the bargaining unit has shrunk by approximately half over the past several years amid high turnover and challenges attracting new staff. BVNA clinicians are seeking to reverse that decline to strengthen access to home care, help patients recover in familiar surroundings, and support timely hospital discharges.

"We appreciate that management has made progress toward attracting new staff by moving on wages for nurses and healthcare professionals early in their careers," said Tamaryn Clowdus, physical therapist, and Co-Chair of the MNA Bargaining Committee at Berkshire VNA. "We also need reasonable cost-of-living increases for the experienced clinicians who have stayed with the VNA through difficult years. Building a stable workforce and supporting our home care patients requires a focus on both recruitment and retention."

BVNA nurses and healthcare professionals provide care that helps patients manage illness, recover after hospitalization and remain safely at home. Experienced clinicians bring clinical judgment, knowledge of their communities and familiarity with patients' needs. These are important community assets that are difficult to replace when staff leave.

With Berkshire Medical Center experiencing high patient volume, sufficient levels of home care staffing matters more than just the patients receiving visits. Ready access to home care can help patients who are ready to leave the hospital return home with the support they need, making more hospital beds available for people requiring acute care.

"Berkshire Medical Center nurses stand with our BVNA colleagues in their efforts to secure a fair contract that strengthens home care in Berkshire County," said Sarah Roberts, RN, MNA Co-Chair at Berkshire Medical Center. "We see every day how much our patients depend on having care available when they return home. Supporting the clinicians who provide that care helps patients leave the hospital safely and keeps beds available for others who need acute care."

The BVNA petition also calls for reasonable and achievable productivity expectations developed with clinicians and grounded in the realities of home care. A visit involves more than time spent in a patient's home. Clinicians must also document care, coordinate services, communicate with providers and families, and travel between patients.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 26,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

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SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association