Officials at Watsonville Community Hospital are preparing for a strike by nurses, scheduled for next Tuesday. Today, hospital administrators plan to begin diverting critical care patients to other hospitals. Dominican Hospital is expected to see the biggest increase in patients, as Watsonville staff prepare for a 24-hour strike planned by nurses to be held starting at 6:45 a.m., Tuesday. Nurses say the move to not admit critical care patients is a way of holding the community hostage, as the nurses union continues to seek a new contract. Negotiations on a new contract have been on-going since January. Other operations at the hospital, including elective and out-patient surgery, will also be disrupted. Watsonville Community hospital is owned by Tennessee based Community Health Systems.
