Allina Health says only about half of the nearly 150 physicians represented by Doctors Council SEIU walked off the job when a four-day strike began Monday, Sept. 14, at Mercy Hospital's Coon Rapids campus and Unity campus in Fridley. Allina spokesperson Blois Olson told the Minnesota Reformer that 37 union doctors crossed the picket line and 40 were not scheduled to work this week. The Reformer added those figures to its story Monday evening. As of Wednesday, Sept. 16, MedicalDaily had not found a newer official count or a public response from the union.
The physician strike is running alongside a separate seven-day walkout by roughly 60 Allina hospice nurses that began Friday, Sept. 11, and is scheduled to run through Thursday, Sept. 17. The overlap puts two kinds of care under pressure at once for north metro households: hospital care at Mercy and Unity, and end-of-life care for patients at home or in care facilities. Allina says it has plans in place so patient care is not disrupted during either strike, according to FOX 9.
