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The nurses working at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation campus in Center City, have settled with the organization, according to the Minnesota Nurses’Association.  The Hazelden nurse staff voted to join the association in January 2025 and initiated an unfair labor practices strike this July 15. (Press photo July 23)

According to the association update,  the terms were reached July 30. 

Several key issues are resolved by the new language, among these,  patient and staff safety. The Chisago County sheriff’s department has been sent to calls related to Hazelden, an average of three times per week, or 233 times from January 2025 to July 2026. The nursing staff argued the organization can not keep relying on public law enforcement to provide safety in the workplace. The new terms also reportedly set a timeframe for panic buttons and trained safety personnel to be available at Hazelden.

The on call and casual nursing staff members are given union protections and will have a voice, where they did not.  And, health insurance benefit protections are addressed.

This initiative is reportedly the first to ever ratify a collective bargaining unit in the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation system, the news release added.

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