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November 11, 2025

Houlton hospital braces for possible nurses strike

People stand in rows with a bridge in the background, holding signs. Photo / Courtesy of Maine State Nurses Association Nurses from Houlton Regional Hospital protested earlier this year against the closure of the labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum department.
By Laurie Schreiber

Registered nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital said Monday they will begin a two-day strike on Nov. 18 to protest what the Maine State Nurses Association calls management’s “refusal to address their deep concerns about staffing and patient care.”

The hospital “continues to be committed to bargaining in good faith and finalizing a contract that supports both staff and patients," it said in a Tuesday news release. 

Strike notice 

The nurses gave the hospital notice of their strike on Nov. 7, according to a news release from the Maine State Nurses Association, which is part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee.

The nurses have been negotiating for over a year for a new contract. The previous contract expired nearly a year ago, on Nov. 30, 2024. Short staffing in the emergency department has been an ongoing issue, particularly during the night shift, the association said. 

“Nurses say patients are often housed in hallway beds due to the lack of available inpatient beds and the severity of their conditions,” the release says. “Nurses say the closure of the hospital’s maternal services is putting patient safety at risk."

An exterior view of a building with an arch.
FILE PHOTO / COURTESY of HOULTON REGIONAL HOSPITAL
Houlton Regional Hospital

Since July, the hospital has stopped offering labor, delivery and postpartum care. Emergency department nurses now stabilize pregnant patients for transport or deliver babies in the emergency room.

"This is a close community; our patients are our neighbors,” said Tenille Nason, a registered nurse in the emergency department. “We have seen over the last five years the emergency department consistently filled with sicker patients. To provide optimal, timely care, sicker patients require additional staffing, but staffing has not changed. We need to do better for our community.”

Another ER nurse, Michael MacArthur, said the hospital has relied on travel nurses.

“We need to retain our experienced nurses who live in the area,” MacArthur said. “We get plenty of nurses to come, but they leave. We need a strong contract that protects us and our patients and attracts and retains excellent nurses.”

The association represents 55 nurses at Houlton Regional Hospital and 4,000 nurses and other caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent. 

Raising wages 

Houlton Regional Hospital received a formal 10-day notice from the nurses’ union of their intent to strike beginning Nov. 18, at 6:45 a.m., and concluding Nov. 20, at 6:44 a.m.

“Houlton Regional Hospital employees are among the lowest paid in the county and the new administration recognized this on their first day,” the hospital said in a release. 

The hospital said it has started raising wages to market levels and improving benefits for all employees, including offering nurses increases higher than those the union initially sought.

Houlton Regional has been expanding, hiring more employees and has recently added several service lines.

“We have been meeting regularly with the nurses’ representatives and have made a fair and competitive offer that includes a substantial wage increase over the duration of the contract, along with enhancements to employee benefits,” said Jeff Zewe, the hospital’s CEO.

The hospital said it has a comprehensive contingency plan that ensures minimal to no disruption to services. It will remain open and fully operational for patients.  

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