The New York State Nurses Association and South Shore University Hospital/Northwell Health have reached a tentative agreement.

It comes less than a week before a strike was set to begin. Approximately 99% of South Shore nurses had voted to authorize a strike beginning on Feb. 27.

The tentative agreement includes improvements to and enforcement of safe staffing standards, as well as increases in salaries. That includes experience pay to retain nurses. It also includes improvements to retiree health benefits.

Nurses withdrew their strike notice on Thursday.

Members will vote on whether to ratify the new agreement starting Friday.

South Shore University Hospital released a statement saying: South Shore University Hospital (SSUH) is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with NYSNA.  From the start of negotiations, our sole focus remained on ensuring that our patients continue to receive world-class care and our dedicated nurses have the best working environment to provide that care.  The agreement provides our nurses with competitive salary increases and benefit enhancements and reaffirms our commitment that our patients continue to receive safe, high-quality care. 

NYSNA local president at South Shore University Hospital Chrysse Blau stated, "This victory is a testament of our nurses’ commitment to patient care. We’re proud of having raised our voices loud and clear to ensure nurses at South Shore get the contract we deserve. NYSNA nurses have a saying, 'Every patient is a VIP!' We hope this is the beginning of a new era for our hospital where this saying becomes a reality and nurses have the staffing and working conditions we need to provide our patients with the excellent care each of them deserves.”