The UNAP has won a very significant arbitration award which reversed the disciplinary suspension of four ICU nurses at Westerly Hospital.  After three days of hearings, arbitrator Mark Irvings found that the nurses had a "reasonable belief that accepting the patient into the ICU could pose an unacceptable risk to their health and safety, and possibly that of the other patients in the ICU." 

The arbitrator noted that while employees must ordinarily "work now and grieve later", this situation was extraordinary because the ICU nurses had been told that:

• the patient had been brought into the Emergency Room by police and paramedics
• the patient claimed he was Hep-C and possibly HIV positive and didn't care 
• the patient was pulling out his IV and threatening others with his blood
• the patient was being certified as a danger to himself and others
• the patient required a constant police presence
• while monitored by a police officer and orderly, it was still necessary to call for additional police  

In a separate action, the Rhode Island Nurse Licensure Board also dismissed complaints that had been filed against the nurses.  To read the arbitration decision, click here.