WSNA nurses pave way for workplace safety at CommonSpirit hospitals 

Not only have WSNA nurses improved safety at their own hospitals, but they have likely inspired CommonSpirit Health to reconsider safety at all its 137 hospitals.

WSNA members at both Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle and St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, part of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health division within the CommonSpirit chain, negotiated weapons detectors in recent contracts. Nurses at Virginia Mason also gained a visitor management system.

While weapons detectors are not yet mandatory in all hospitals, CommonSpirit is taking a big step toward a safety upgrade.

An email sent from Monica Hilt, the CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle on Jan. 22 announced the following news:  
 
“CommonSpirit Health has developed a visitor management system that will be implemented at all hospitals across its system. St. Joseph Medical Center (SJMC) and Virginia Mason Medical Center (VMMC) will serve as beta sites in the NW Region.”

The visitor management system will require all people visiting the hospital (16+) to get a visitor badge. Anyone visiting the hospital will need a valid photo ID. If they don’t have a photo ID, admission will only be allowed by house supervisor approval. Security will be placed at the badge entrance. From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., visitors can only enter through the emergency department. Visitors will get their photos taken and have them attached to their visitor badge.

Speaking out

On Oct. 9, 2023, hundreds of nurses held a picket outside Virginia Mason demanding a safer workplace.

The nurses along with a group of local and state elected officials and labor leaders emphasized the connection between assaults and ongoing issues of staffing shortages, retention and pay.

In a story published Oct. 10, 2023, The Seattle Times interviewed two nurses at Virginia Mason who had been attacked by patients. One was stabbed in the jaw by a butter knife, and another was punched in the face.

Nurses told the Seattle Times they would feel better if they knew patients and visitors were required to check in and be screened for weapons, or if they had a larger security team or other safety measures in place.

Making history

In October 2023, WSNA nurses at Virginia Mason made history by negotiating a pilot program for the first weapons detection system among CommonSpirit’s 137 hospitals, as well as negotiating a mandatory visitor registration.

In January 2025, the hospital announced that the pilot program is done and that a permanent weapons detection system has been installed.

Meanwhile, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, WSNA won another safety victory at a CommonSpirit Hospital. The hospital is piloting a weapons detector in the emergency room, according to the contract ratified in December 2024.

“It’s a good victory," said Pamela Chandran, WSNA’s director of Legal Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, who served as lead negotiator for both hospitals. “Nurses stood up for safety and won.”

As Chandran said, “Virginia Mason was the snowplow.”

Bobbi Nodell is the marketing and communications manager at WSNA.