HPAE Local 5138 Nurses ratify new contract with guaranteed nurse-to-patient safe staffing ratios at Southern Ocean Medical Center

HPAE Local 5138 Nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center have ratified a new three-year contract with their employer that includes guaranteed nurse-to-patient safe staffing ratios, wages and other benefits.

HPAE President Debbie White, RN, said this new contract gives our patients access to better, safer healthcare.

“Nurse-to-patient ratios essentially put a cap on the number of patients a hospital nurse can care for at any given time,” White said. “Patients can expect better care because in this environment, nurses are available to the patient and much less stressed and overwhelmed.”

“We are also fighting to pass a state law mandating nurse-to-patient safe staffing ratios because not every hospital in New Jersey has a union. Until that law becomes reality, we will continue to fight to include this provision in our contracts,” White added.

HPAE Local 5138 Nurses at HMH Southern Ocean Medical Center nearly conducted a ULP strike. The employer returned to the bargaining table and a settlement was reached 24 hours before the strike was scheduled to begin. This agreement provides patients in Ocean County with the ability to access a hospital with safe staffing ratios in the following units:

Further details of the new contract are available here.

HPAE Local 5138 President Anna Pona, RN, said she was relieved the long running negotiations has finally ended and she thanked her colleagues for their resilience and determination to win better work conditions to give them the platform to give their patients the very best care.

“It wasn’t easy, but we hope this deal will help us retain our current staff and recruit new nurses,” Pona said. “A safer work environment helps us all, nurses and patients alike.”

With this contract settlement, Southern Ocean Medical Center is the second hospital in the Hackensack Meridian Health System to have guaranteed safe staffing ratios. In 2024, HPAE Local 5030 negotiated similar ratios in their contract at HMH Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Hudson County.

Later this month HPAE Local 5058 at HMH Jersey Shore University Medical Center will begin bargaining with the employer. The 1,500 nurses in Neptune, Monmouth County have the same priority of achieving a contract that will guarantee safe staffing ratios in their union contract. Local 5058 current contract expires on September 8, 2025.