Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet Welcomes New Cohort of Nurses

Leadership at Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet announced it has hired 65 registered nurses since implementing its last, best and final offer (LBFO) on its nursing contract in January. Twenty-eight of these are nurses new to the hospital, with the remaining nurses having been rehired or transferred from other Ascension Illinois sites of care.

As part of the LBFO implementation, the hospital moved forward with an extensive recruitment campaign on January 21, including a new, competitive wage scale that became effective on March 3. Hospital leadership had previously stated it could no longer delay paying nurses a competitive wage.

“This wage implementation was necessary for us to be able to recruit and hire the nurses needed to care for our community,” said Barbara Martin, president of Ascension Saint Joseph – Joliet. “The arrival of these new nurses, who will add their skills and talents to our various patient care teams, supports the positive response we’ve seen to our recruitment efforts.”

Martin joined 11 of the new nurses today at their onboarding and orientation.

“I’m excited to start my time here in Joliet alongside you,” she told the nurses. “We’re in this together. It’s time to move forward, delivering on our promise to provide the Joliet community with the high-quality care they deserve.”

Ascension press release